LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Shelf. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CAMPBELLTSM 



IN 



Cheistiai^j" Costume. 



BY 



¥ 



D. B. DAVIS. 




CINCINNATI : 

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 

1878. 



/7 



30' 



s-vf^ 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, 

BY D. B. DAVIS, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



OAMPBELLISM 
In Ohristian Costume. 



MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR. 

HIS CONVERSION. 

The subject of this work, David B. Davis, 
was born in Surry County, North CaroHna, 
April II, 1813. He often felt the need of a 
hope in Christ in early life, and knowing 
that he ought to yield to God's grace was 
often " almost persuaded " when he saw 
others seeking the way of life. For about 
three years he was in an anxious state of 
mind, which he concealed from the public. 
Often in seclusion he would pray and weep 
and strive for a blessing, thinking to receive 
the happy evidence of sins forgiven alone 
with God. All this time he would not go to 
the anxious seat ; but plan for himself, 
choosing the time and place and circumstan- 
ces of remission, and even went so far as to 
think God ought to bless him without mak- 
ing his desire known to his friends, or even 
to a Methodist preacher. But finding this 
course of no avail and turning from it with 
sadness, he went to a camp-meeting on the 
Ararat River, September, 1833. The pre- 



4 Campbellism 

siding elder preached — seekers were called 
for. He started, then hesitated. A minis- 
ter led him to the altar, where he prayed for 
mercy, and made an unconditional ^rrender 
to God, experiencing unspeakable joy in the 
Holy Spirit. He then saw how he had 
sinned agamst God hy demanding conditions 
of surrender, before whom he was a rebel. 

HIS FIRST DREAM. 

In the next year after his conversion 
(1834) he had a singular dream in the night. 
Being unmarried and but a youth he dreamed 
of being in the presence of his family of a 
wife and several children. His wife gave 
him great distress, then disappeared for a 
while. He then saw another woman taller 
and larger, with two children, who gave him 
much pleasure. The first one appeared 
again but not as his wife. Then he saw 
them together. When he awoke it was 
found to be only a dream. Though it made 
quite a serious impression not easy to get rid 
of, he related it to others, and was told of a 
Methodist minister who had interpretated 
dreams (Thomas Bryant). To him he ap- 
plied, who said he might be like his father 
whose first wife was dead, and he married a 
second time. He replied that could not be, 
for in the dream his first wife was still living 
while he was enjoying the society of the 
second one, so the minister could not tell its 
meaning. And the applicant remarked that 



In Christian Costume. 5 

he never expected to marry as he thought 
there was trouble ahead. And though the 
dream made a strong impression for a while, 
being engaged in business caused him to 
cease to think of it. 

HIS FIRST MARRIAGE. 

So in the Spring of 1835 ^^^ was married 
to Christiana Peel, and in about three years 
the troubles commenced which he had ex- 
perienced. He emigrated to the State of 
Illinois in 1839, and there lived with his first 
wife till the Spring of 1855, still trying to 
adorn his Christian profession. But his 
troubles became so intense as to impel him 
to seek a home in the West. While in 
Kansas with his oldest son sickness brought 
him nigh to death and created a desire to 
see his children. By skillful treatment he 
finally was able to travel, and reached home 
in early Autumn, only to find much property 
squandered and to be seized again wdth a se- 
vere and lingering fever. Sickness and loss 
of property prevented his moving West. His 
wife finally applied for a divorce and was 
discouraged from proceeding by her lawyers, 
F. B. Tanner and Thomas Casey, of Mt. 
Vernon. She then tried to provoke him to 
apply for one. This she did to the best of 
her ability till, as he thought, he was driven 
to take his children away where they would 
not be led astray, or seek a divorce so that 
she could exercise no authority over them. 



Campbellism 



THE DIVORCE. 



Choosing the latter course he entered suit, 
which resulted in a divorce. And by his 
earnest pleading all the children were given 
to him except two, the youngest ones. His 
wife received besides these three hundred 
dollars alimony. After court, Richard House, 
a noble Christian, seeing him in great dis- 
tress about his divided family, tried to com- 
fort him by recommending marriage. When 
he said he had not thought of ever trying to 
live with another woman, and being still anx- 
ious about his little ones, he received them 
gladly by compromise in January, 1858. 

THE DREAM REVIVED. 

While in this contented state of mind, his 
dream was made plain that it had in part 
been fulfilled. He then told his friends that 
without doubt it would all come to pass. 
Soon after this Mr. Robt. Howell came with 
the request that the children should go to 
see their mother, that she had sent for them, 
and that the doctor and all the medical 
books said no one had ever recovered in her 
condition. He replied that she would not 
die till after he had married the second 
time, and there was no prospect of that as 
yet. So she recovered, and married again 
in August. Being thus assured there was 
another woman for him, he soon com- 
menced traveling to find her. Having trav- 



In Christian Costume. 7 

eled several hundred miles in his search, 
and having passed but two miles from her 
home in the mean time, and having said to 
his friend Elbert Whittenburg that there 
v^ould be something in the way of either 
party till he found the right one, he found 
his second wife on the second day after two 
children went up from Centralia in a balloon. 
He was married to Mary S. Ray, September 
13, 1858. He then had six children with 
him, and she had two little boys in 1859. 
His first wife and her husband came by his 
home, when he saw the two women together, 
and was in a similar state of feeling to what 
he had experienced in his dream twenty-five 
years before, and this brings the reader to 

Proposition i. Campellism appears in its 
Serpent For^n. 

In 1859, 1 heard Mr. Manahan, a Christian 
minister preach, w^ho said : *^ Talk about a 
different faith ? There is but one faith. 
Talk about a religion that you can feel t It 
is all tradition. "^^ Soon after this, Mr. Morgan 
began to recommend it to my family, saying 
he knew two men who commenced preach- 
ing about the same time — one a Christian 
preacher, the other a Methodist. The Meth- 
odist was told how the Christian excelled 
him in preaching, when he said, " I know 
he does, for he has nothing to study but the 
Bible ; I have both the Bible and the Disci- 
pline to study to keep them from conflicting, 



8 Campbellism 

and I can 't do it/' So he joined the Chris- 
tian Church. Mr. Morgan next said he had 
written to his Brother James that there were 
seven point-blank contradictions to the Word 
of God in the Presbyterian Disciphne. 
Brother James wrote back to know where 
they were. Then said he, "I would go to 
brother Williams, and get him to point them 
out." 

At another time he said to my wife, " I 
have ruined Brother James. I went to see 
him, and found he had a large Church near 
Fairfield. We went to Church together on 
Sunday. He got up and labored hard one 
hour and fifteen minutes by my watch to 
prove that after one repents he must be- 
lieve." He said he got up, and in twenty 
minutes tore it all to pieces. He told him 
he had required an impossibility of that 
people ; that they must believe before they 
could repent, and it was impossible for them 
to believe after they did repent. One of 
the members, on being told the new preacher 
was James's brother, said to him, "Well, 
he has beat you preaching." James said 
" Campbellite ;" and so it was according to 
Mr. Campbell's gospel. For a sinner must 
have both grief and hatred on account of 
sin before he can gladly receive Christ by 
faith as his only and all-sufiicient Savior. 
Mr. Morgan followed Mr. Campbell when he 
put faith before repentance. 



In Christian Costume. 9 

Proposition 2. Repentance precedes Faith^ in 
the Bible Order. 

In this he opposes 

I St. yo/in the Baptist^ whose first word of 
preaching is " repent/' Matt. 3: 2. "John 
verily baptized with the baptism of repetitance^ 
saying unto the people that they should believe 
on Him which should come after him," Acts 
19: 4. Again: "John came unto you in 
the way of righteousness, and ye believed him 
not ; but the publicans and harlots believed 
him. And ye, when ye had seen it, repeyited 
nof afterward, that ye might believe him," 
Matt. 21 : 32. Christ here teaches that it is 
necessary to repent in order to believe. 

2d. The Twelve Disciples, The work of 
the twelve commissioned by Christ is noted 
by Mark (6: 12): "And they went out, and 
preached that men should repent.'' 

3d. Feter. His first word to the con- 
science-smitten inquirers at Pentecost was 
repent. Acts 2 : 3, and Acts 3 : 19. Acts 2 : 
44, tells the result of the first sermon : 
"And all that believed were together, and 
had all things common." And Acts 4: 4, 
tells the result of the second sermon : 
" Many of them which heard the word be- 
lievedr 

4th. Faul. In the midst of heathen idola- 
try he preached repentance. "And the times 
of this ignorance God winked at, but now 
commandeth all men every-where to 7'epent^^^ 



lo Campbellism 

Acts 17 : 30. The thirty-fourth verse gives 
the result : ^' Certain men clave unto him, 
and believed^ Paul also taught publicly from 
house to house, testifying both to the Jews 
and also to the Greeks repentance \o^^x<\ God 
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, 
Acts 20 : 21. 

Also, 

5th. Ch?'ist. The first words of his preach- 
ing are, ^^Repent ye, and believe the Gospel," 
Mark 1:13; and the object of his mission 
was to call '^ sinners to repentance," Matt. 
9: 13. And again, "Him hath God exalted 
for to give repe7itanceto Israel, and remissions 
of sins," Acts 5:31. Besides, if there is 
any verse where faith is put before repent- 
ance in the New Testament, I have not been 
able to find it. I'his brings us to Campbellism 

SEEKING WHOM TO DECEIVE. 

Mr. Morgan next said he wanted to bap- 
tize me for the pardon of my sins. To this 
I made no reply at the time, as I could see 
no propriety in such a request. But some 
time afterward, in the presence of my family, 
he said that he still wanted to baptize me 
to pardon my sins. Thinking he knew 
nothing about the divine reality of the ''peace 
that passeth knowledge," I commenced 
giving my religious experience. He tried to 
stop me, saying he would not give the Bible 
for every man's experience in the world. I 
said, if it agrees with God's Word, it must 



In Christian Costume. ii 

be good, and went on. He said his experi- 
ence was just the same. He sought the Lord 
at the " mourners' bench," prayed with all his 
heart, believed with all his heart, had the love 
of God shed abroad in his heart, or was filled 
with the love of God, and loved every body, 
and thought his sins were pardoned. But 
the great trouble was he was not taught 
right, for he took conversion for pardon, and 
never heard the Gospel preached till he was 
a man of a family. Then John A. Williams 
preached it, and he obeyed it. He then 
assured me that since that time there had 
never been a moment when he had doubted 
his acceptance with God, and that if I would 
obey the Gospel^ I would never have any more 
doubts. I then asked him if he thought a 
man could be filled with the love of God, and 
have it flowing in his heart for thirty or forty 
years, and his sins not pardoned. 

'^ Oh, yes," he replied. "God has never 
promised to pardon sins anywhere except in 
baptism, and it is impossible for sins to be 
pardoned anywhere else." 

I thought that if God had promised to 
pardon sin in baptism, it had escaped my 
notice. I then understood that receiving 
baptism to pardon sin was what the Christian 
Church called '^ obey i7ig the Gospel.''^ 

CAMPBELLISM DECEIVING. 

My second son obeyed the Gospel, and it was 
kept secret from me several weeks before I 



12 Campbellism 

heard it. Also, contrary to my wishes, my 
youngest child joined the so-called Christian 
Church, and was to obey the Gospel the next 
morning. My wife, who had long since 
obeyed Mr. CafnpbelVs gospel^ insisted that it 
was my duty to go to the baptism, to which 
I refused, leaving an impression that I was 
not at all pleased with such a proceeding. 
So she tried to shame me, and said that 
Pink, my third son, would have joined had 
it not been for others, and that he told 
Martha Ray he would not be satisfied in any 
other Church. So I wrote to him, telling 
him his sister had joined the Campbellites, 
and asked him of what had been said of 
him. He wrote me, and said his friends 
must be mistaken, and advised me to talk 
to my children. He also wrote a keen letter 
to his sister about the course she had taken. 
When Mr. Morgan came, the letter was 
handed to him. Having read it, he said my 
son who was at college wrote it, and the 
family were ready to agree with him. I then 
told Mr. Morgan he certainly knew better. 
He then said yes, Pink wrote it, but that my 
oldest son composed it. Seeing he was de- 
termined to deceive, I let it pass, for he 
affirmed Pink never could compose such a 
letter. 

My oldest son returned home for the holi- 
days. He and Mr. Morgan were talking 
about regeneration, when Mr. Morgan quoted 
St. Paul's words to prove a water regenera- 



In Christian Costume. 13 

tion. My son said it was all a farce. So 
after he had returned to school, Mr. Morgan 
told my family he said that the Scriptures 
were all a farce, which meant all deception^ 
and that when Mr. Ray heard the statement 
he said, '* That beats any thing I ever 
heard.'' 

Soon afterward Mr. Morgan preached two 
miles away at what is called the " Nation 
School House," and Mr. Ray was present at 
that meeting. My wife then told me that 
my son thought the Scriptures all deception ; 
that he had told Mr. Morgan so in the 
presence of Mr. Ray. Mr. Morgan had told 
her, and also Mr. Hill, another Christian 
preacher. So when Mr. Morgan came, I 
spoke to him about it. He seemed to be 
struck almost dumb at first, but finally af- 
firmed it as before. 

In 1868, Mr. Elliott, who was present at 
the meeting, said Mr. Morgan told a similar 
story, and tried to make a big preach over 
it, saying he would not tell who the man 
was, nor what Church he belonged to ; but 
if any body disputed it, he had a man in 
the house to prove it. The people were 
wondering who it could be, wlien Mr. Young 
said that Mr. Morgan told him my son 
was the man, and Elzy Ray was the witness. 
Then I remarked that all the credit a man 
gets for lying lasts only till the truth comes 
out. I saw Mr. Ray in the presence of Mr. 
Reuben Farthing, and spoke about the con- 



14 Campbellism 

versation of my son and Mr. Morgan. Mr. 
Ray said he heard them talking, when Mr. 
Morgan said something about St. Paul, and 
my son said, "It is a farce," or something 
like that, to which he added, " Oh, your son 
did n't mean any harm." I asked him if he 
said any thing when they were talking. He 
replied that he did n't say a word, and that I 
might ask my son about it. 

Again, in 1868, Mr. Morgan was at my 
house reading a letter from his Brother 
James, whom he said he had ruined. He 
expressed his intention of sending him a 
good one. After dinner I took him out, told 
him how he had lied, and had made my wife 
and children believe lies. He said he had not 
lied, and if my son told him he meant no 
harm, he would go every-where he had pub- 
lished the report, and tell them better. And 
that he had not named it out of my family to 
a single soul, except brother Snow, and he 
told him to let it stop right there, for my son 
might not have meant it. And at the Nation 
he named no name, so they did not know 
whom he meant. So I said, " I think you have 
told others." He said he would swear he 
had not. I then told him about telling a 
lie on Mr. Ray. He said he would swear 
Mr. Ray said it just as he told it. I then 
advised him to do better. So by either 
obedience or disobedience to such a request, 
he soon began to unmask some of the promi- 
nent features of his beloved doctrine. 



In Chrtstan Costume. 15 

Sitting on my north porch in September, 
he commenced the operation by saying, 
there was PHny Ray, who promised to obey 
the Gospel at a certain age. She died be- 
fore that age. Another girl, in Dunahoo's 
prairie, promised to obey the Gospel on a 
certain Sunday. That very Sunday she was 
buried. Oh^ how important it is to obey the 
Gospel ! Sir, said I, a man cant get up and 
obey the Gospel when he pleases. Yes, he 
can, said he, he can get up and go right 
along. What's to hinder him? I said, 
there is a spiritual work necessary. He 
said there is no spiritual work necessary at 
all, and that he had often heard preachers 
pray, Lord, accompany thy word with thy 
Spirit. It was presumption, it was blas- 
phemy. Lord, accompany thy word with 
thy word. 

THE SECOND DREAM. 

Soon after this I prepared to go to my 
farm twenty-five miles away. On the night 
before starting, which was Thursday night 
of September loth, I again dreamed of trav- 
eling a north-easterly course. Coming to a 
farm I saw a tall, slim man traveling ahead 
of me to the left near a house, also a short, 
thick one traveling in the same direction, 
but on the right of the tall one. Coming 
near the farm-house I stopped and spoke to 
an old gentleman who owned the farm. 
Then started directly east. The next object 



i6 Campbellism 

of attention was a spring. Coming near it 
I stepped around to the outlet and looked at 
the beautiful clear water. Then turning to 
the left to go on my way I looked back and 
saw a large open space above the spring. 
Going on some distance I saw a large flat 
stone in another spring, part in the water 
and part above the water, while one end 
seemed to be moving gently up and down 
by the force of the water. Having crossed 
the branch a short distance below I then 
went to the north-east and soon overtook the 
two men whom I had seen at the farm. We 
entered into conversation and I told them 
how that old gentleman had fixed his spring 
with stone. 

The next day on coming to my farm I was 
informed that a meeting was to be held near 
by and was to continue two weeks. Two 
ministers, of a new order, were to conduct 
the services — one from Hamilton County, 
the other from Franklin County. Mr. Jacob 
French, of Hamilton County, stopped with 
me that night, and in the morning I asked 
him when his Church originated. He said 
he read something about it away back in the 
Old Book and that his letter said, *' The 
Church of God in Bone Prairie." 

Anxious to know more of a Church with 
such a Scripture name I asked him of his 
doctrine. He answered without hesitation, 
"There are conditions of pardon or there 
are no conditions. These conditions are 



In Christian Costume. 17 

fiiitb, repentance, and baptism, and you 
must not depend on your feelings." He 
then gave an illustration saying, ''A man 
once violating the laws of the land was con- 
demned to be hung. The neighbors got up 
a petition to the governor to reprieve him. 
Two men took up the petition. One came 
back and said the governor had reprieved 
him. He felt glad. At last the other came 
and said the governor did not reprieve him. 
The criminal said, ^ I know he did reprieve 
me.' When asked how he knew it he said, 
' I know it because I feel it.' " I told him 
that was Campbellite doctrine. But he as- 
sured me he was not a Campbellite, which 
was an additional evidence that he was one. 
So I told the people that those new preachers 
surely were Campbellites, or I was greatly 
deceived. 

THE SECOND DREAM REVIVED. 

I then started out on a north-easterly 
course and had gone about eighty rods 
when my dream flashed into my mind. 
Then I knew without doubt that Mr. French 
was the man whom I saw in my dream. So 
I said to myself that is the very man. It 
can 't be otherwise. Then I was seized with 
the most intense and exalted feeling, in 
which I was conscious that it all came from 
Almighty God, and that the moving stone 
in and above the water had a deep meaning. 
I felt willing to do my whole duty as well as 
2 



1 8 Campbellism 

I could, but all was yet dark as to what was 
required of me. I thought of turning back 
for instruction, but concluded to go on and 
return that evening. 

The rain prevented my return till next 
morning. By that time Mr. Tehoun, of 
Franklin County, had come. Having met 
him I soon entered into conversation with 
Mr. French, telling him I was just as sure 
I saw him on Thursday night as I saw him 
then. He replied, " I do n't understand 
you. Was it a dream .^" I said it was. 
Mr. Tehoun said, " You were thinking about 
him." I said, " I knew of no such man in 
the world.'' Again, he said, "You had 
heard of the appointment ?'' I replied that 
I knew nothing of it at the time. He then 
said, " May be it was a vision." Mr. French 
then said, *' The school-boys told him that in 
a vision the eyes were open and in a dream 
they were shut, and he supposed that I 
did not know whether mine were open or 
shut." I said "No ; but I saw you, and saw 
a spring. In that spring was a stone both 
in and above the water and that spring and 
stone means something." I said, "Now I 
saw you on your own place, and I have 
no idea there is any spring there." He 
said, "The spring is there." I then went 
on to describe the spring, how it was 
situated, the open space above and its sur- 
roundings. He said I described his farm 
just as well as he could himself. I then 



In Christian Costume. 19 

expressed a regret that I did not get back 
that night to get some instruction about it. 
He said he could spare an hour then, so 
we went out, but it was all still dark. I 
asked him if there was no difference between 
the Christian and the sinner. He answered, 
^' No, except the Christian performs the con- 
ditions of pardon, and knows that he has be- 
lieved, repented, and been baptized." I 
then told him my impressions were for a 
grand and good purpose, and I hoped they 
would work out as the Almighty had de- 
signed. Having returned to the house Mr. 
Tehoun invited me to church, and said, 
"Wasn't that pretty clear water you saw?" 
I said, " Yes, just such as Mr. French says it 
is." He then told me I might see that clear 
water. " Yes," said Mr. French, " we preach 
nothiiigbut the Bible ^ I said, "I suppose the 
water is where I saw it, and if I ever pass 
through that country I will go to see that 
spring." Mr. French said, " To see if I told 
a lie ?" I said, " No, but to see if it looks as 
it did that night." 

Having started for home, when about 
eighty rods on the way the dream of 1834 
came into my mind. My feelings became 
intense and it was revealed to me just as 
clear as before that Mr. French was the 
man whom I saw in my dream, that Camp- 
bellism was false and that the Lord required 
me to prove it to the world. I then wanted 
to hear the new preachers preach, and soon 



20 Campbellism 

changed my course and went back and 
listened attentively. At the close of the ser- 
vice I asked Mr. Tehoun if he believed in the 
operations of the Holy Spirit. He reached 
out his hand to the Bible. I said, '^ Noth- 
ing- but the Bible ?" He said, '' No." I then 
asked him if there was any hell. He said, 
''No." I said, ''That is the way I under- 
stand you." Afterwards he asked me if I 
understood my dream. I said I understood 
it clearly, and that his doctrine was false be- 
yond a posssible doubt. I then contended for 
the operation of the Holy Spirit. He said, 
"I have heard of that old thing before." 
I said, "What old thing?" He said, "The 
Holy Spirit." I said, " If you don't repent 
you will be lost, world without end." 

T^is is to Certify, that I, D. B. Davis, 
had a singular and interesting dream on the 
night of September lo, 1868. It w^as con- 
cerning a farm of Mr. Jacob French, his 
residence, and his spring, which was about 
forty miles away from me, and of which I 
knew nothing at all. I there spoke with him. 

The above statements are subscribed and 
sworn to before me by D. B. Davis, No- 
vember 10, 1868, in the County of Jef- 
ferson, and State of Illinois. 

Robert S. Young, J. P. 

We do he7'ehy certify^ that, on the 13th day 
of September, 1868, we heard David B. 



In Christian Costume. 21 

Davis state to the Rev. Jacob French that 
he had a dream the night of September loth 
about him and two other persons, giving the 
description of the spring ; and Mr. French 
stated that he had described it correctly. 
J. R. Abernathy, 
J. M. Stockton. 

Subscribed and sworn to this 7th November, 
1868. RoBT. S. Young, J. P. 



State OF Illinois, I j^^^ 3^3^ 
Jenerson Co. j " 



This is to certify^ that, previous to D. B. 
Davis's second marriage, he related a certain 
dream which he had about his first wife and 
children, and also about his second wife and 
two children ; his trouble with the first, 
and enjoyment with the second. 

Wm. M. Lame, 
Mary Ann Lane. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 
November 7, 1868. 

R. S. Young, J. P. 

State of Illinois, \ 
Jefferson County. J 

I, C. H. Patton, Clerk of the County 
Court in and for said county, which is a 
court of record using a seal, do hereby cer- 
tify that R. S. Young, Esq., whose name is 
subscribed to the foregoing instrument of 
writing, was on the day of the date thereof, 
and still is, an acting J. P. within and for 
said county, duly commissioned and quahfied 



2 2 CaMPBELLISM 

to office, and as such full faith and credit 
are due, and of right ought to be given, to 
all his official acts, as well out of as in court. 

In testimony whereof, I, C H. Patton, Clerk 
of the County Court, as aforesaid, have 
hereunto subscribed my name and af- 
fixed the seal of said court, at my 
office in Mt. Vernon on the 9th day of 
November, A. D. 1868. 

C. H. Patton, Clerk County Court, 
By J. N. Satter FIELD, Z>. C 

Conscious that I had neglected my duty of 
talking to my children, and knowing that 
Mr. Morgan was lying to deceive, I asked 
my second son, who had obeyed Campbell's 
gospel, if he felt any change in baptism. 
My wife then flew into a passion ; said that 
must be stopped, or we would be two people ; 
and said, tell them to read the Bible, and 
that it was none of my business if the chil- 
dren went to hell so they were satisfied. I 
said the good Book teaches no such doctrine. 
So when Mr. Morgan came, he was informed 
that I had the audacity to talk to the chil- 
dren. He at once demanded of me what 
right I had to ask such questions. I said 
we should always be ready to give a reason 
for our hope. Besides, if a parent had no 
right to ask such questions, I did n't know 
who had. My second son said he felt no 
change when he was baptized. He said they 
do n't feel any change ; that change takes 



In Christian Costume. 23 

place in the mind of God, and we know 
nothing about it. I could not agree with 
him, so he waited to know if I was going to 
preach. I said, "At the appointed time." 
He said, " Now is the Lord's time." 

In the Fall of 1869, ^ ^^^^ ^i^ ^Y ^P" 
pointed time had come, and I was ready to 
meet him anywhere to prove his doctrine 
false. He said, " Name your time and 
place." I said, '^At Fyke's School-house, 
Christmas-day." He said, "You don't have 
confidence in me. I won't debate with any 
one who don't have confidence in me; but 
I will tell you w^hat I will do. If you wnll 
get a respectable man, I will meet him, or 
get somebody to meet him." I said, " Yes, 
you will play thunder." He said, "That is 
a nice word. Do you know wdiat that w^ord 
means ? That word means hell." I said, 
''Very good ; just what you are doing." 

Again I said I was ready to meet him any- 
where. He insisted that I should preach 
right there. I objected on account of my 
wife ; but she said she w^anted to hear me. 
So I commenced on what he had said about 
ruining his Brother James, and asked him if 
he said it. He said he did say it. I then 
asked him if he did n't tell me he had not 
told a living soul out of my family, except 
brother Snow, about the evil report con- 
cerning my son. He said yes, he did. I 
said, " You may ask brother Snow to-morrow, 
and I hpjie.ve he will say you never told him 



24 Campbellism 

to keep it secret. Besides, it looks unreason- 
able that you should be preaching and pub- 
lishing it all over the country, and then tell 
him to say nothing about it " He still af- 
firmed he did. My wife said if brother Snow 
said so, she would believe it. So I asked 
him, and he said of Mr. Morgan, " I can 't 
tell you all he said ; but he never told me to 
say nothing about it, and I have no idea your 
son had any allusion to the Scriptures." 
When I met Mr. Morgan again, he said to 
me, " I suppose you went to see brother 
Snow to see if I lied, did you ?" I said, 
*' Oh, no, sir ; not at all. I knew you lied 
before I saw him." 

But he still could not keep from teaching 
his beloved doctrine in my family. So he 
told us that a sinner had no right to pray, 
and if he did pray, it did no good ; and the 
Word of God did not command it, nor fur- 
nish a single example where a sinner ever 
did pray before he was baptized. I said, 
*^I think there is." He demanded one. I 
gave him the publican. My wife said, 
"That was a parable." I then found where 
Paul prayed before baptism. My wife said, 
" Oh, sir, but he was n't a sinner." Mr. 
Morgan said, "I say he was a sinner." I 
then gave him Cornelius. He said, "He 
was a Jew." I told him better, and told him 
I was going soon to speak at the Nation 
School-house, and wanted him to be there, for 
I intended to skin him all over. But he did 



In Christian Costume. 25 

not meet me there. So I showed the people 
that he had lied knowingly, willingly, and 
willfully, and gave the witnesses in his own 
Church to prov^e it. 

After Church, Mr. Wimberly said to me, 
" Make your appointment, and get your man ; 
Mr. Morgan shall meet you now. You have 
accused him of lying." I said, '' I do n't want 
any man. I wanted to meet him here ; but he 
won't meet me anywhere." He said, '^Oh, 
but he will, if I tell him." I said, ''Bring 
him on." Mr. Nelson Malcomb then asked 
me how^ many modes of baptism there were 
in the Bible. I said, " I do n't care any 
thing about that. That is all right if you 
do n't take it for regeneration or the new 
birth. If you do, you catch the shadow, 
and miss the substance." 

The next day I spoke on the same sub- 
ject on which Mr. Morgan had been speak- 
ing, and, as I was very small, I followed St. 
Paul where he treated of the sinner's justi- 
fication. Here are some of the Scriptures 
with which I tried to prove my position: "I 
am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for 
it is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also 
to the Greek. For therein is the righteous- 
ness of God revealed from faith : as it is 
written, The just shall live by faith." ''To 
declare, I say, at this time his righteousness : 
that he might be just, and the justifier of 
him which believeth in Jesus. Where is 



26 Campbellism 

boasting then ? It is excluded. By what 
law ? of works ? Nay ; but by the law of 
faith. Therefore, we conckide that a man 
is justified by faith without the deeds of the 
law." "Seeing it is one God which shall 
justify the circumcision by faith., and uncir- 
cumcision through faith '^ " For what saith 
the Scripture ? Abraham believed God, and 
it was counted unto him for righteousness. 
Now to him that worketh is the reward reck- 
oned, not of grace, but of debt. But to him 
that worketh not, but believeth on him that 
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted 
for rio^hteousness ; even as JDavid describeth 
the blessedness of the man unto whom God 
imputeth righteousness without works ^ say- 
ing, Blessed are they whose iniquities are 
forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will 
not impute sin." "And he (Abraham) re- 
ceived the sign of circumcision, a seal of the 
righteousness of the faith which he had, 
being yet uncircumcised : that he might be 
the father of all them that believe." " For 
the promise that he should be the heir of the 
world was not to Abraham or his seed through 
the law, but through the righteousness of 
faith. For if they which are of the law be 
heirs, faith is made void and the promise of 
none effect.^^ " Therefore, being justified by 
faith., we have peace with God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ " " For to be carnally 
minded is death, but to be spiritually minded 



In Christian Costume. 27 

is life and peace, because the carnal mind is 
enmity against God ; for it is not subject to 
the law of God, neither indeed can be. So 
then they that are in the flesh can not 
please God." '' Now, if any man have not 
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'' 
'^ But if the Spirit of Him that raised up 
Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that 
raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken 
your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwell- 
eth in you." *' For ye have not received the 
spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have 
received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bear- 
eth witness with our spirit that we are the 
children of God." "As it is written. Behold, 
I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone and a rock 
of offense : and whosoever believeth on him 
shall not be ashamed." " Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, He that heareth my word and 
believeth on Him that sent me, hath ever- 
lasting life, and shall not come into condem- 
nation, but is passed from death unto life." 
"For whosoever shall call upon the name 
of the Lord shall be saved." 

Afterwards Mr. Morgan and William T. 
Williams were holding meetings at the Na- 
tion, at which an appointment for John A. 
Williams, of Salem, was announced. He 
had not preached there for five years ; so, 
when I heard of it, I concluded to go. It 
was to be on Tuesday night. I found he 
had taken great offense at my effort, be- 



28 Campbellism 

cause it was in opposition to Mr. Camp- 
beirs gospel, and thought to defend Mr. 
Morgan, though he said that was not his 
business; but his business was to defend the 
Gospel. So I went to hear him at the ap- 
pointed time, and arrived after he had com- 
menced speaking. Soon he stretched out 
his hand toward the blackboard, and said : 

" I will make a mark there on the black- 
board, and any of these children can tell 
what it is ; they will say that is one. Now 
I will add a cipher, then, at the right ; they 
will say that is ten. I will add another; 
they will say it is one hundred ; another, one 
thousand ; and so on. You see it increases 
ten times for every cipher added. Now, we 
will call the first mark Faith, the next Re- 
pentance, and the next Baptism. Now we 
have Faith, Repentance, and Baptism. Our 
people do n't say baptism pardons sin. I 
never heard one say it. The Baptists say 
baptism is the door into the Church. Bap- 
tism changes our state ; baptism changes 
our relation. See that young .lady engaged 
to be married. She comes out on the floor; 
her state is not changed. Her relation is 
not changed until the ceremony is said. 
Then her state is changed ; her relation is 
changed. Baptism changes our state ; bap- 
tism changes our relation." 

He next gave the various steps by which 
the sinner consummates his return to God. 
I. Hearing the Gospel ; 2. Believing the 



In Christian Costume. 29 

Gospel as firiith ; 3. Repentance ; 4. Confes- 
sion of Christ ; 5. Obedience or baptism. 
He then went on to say that crying and 
weeping did no good ; that repentance was 
not sorrow, and Webster gave a wrong defi- 
nition, for Paul said godly sorrow worketh 
repentance unto salvation, not to be re- 
pented of He then went on to say that 
" God does not hate sinners ; God loves sin- 
ners. Just persuade sinners that God loves 
them ; then they will love God, because like 
begets like.'' He talked a long time after- 
w^ard, and, at the close, turned to the board, 
where he had set up his numerical battery — 
battery 100,000 ! — and said, ''Now I will cut 
off those ciphers at the right. And James 
says that faith without works is dead, and. 
there is nothing but a dead faith. And he 
said he did not care any thing about bap- 
tism, and he has nothing but a dead faith." 

After discussion I called the attention of 
the people, and announced that I w^ould be 
there at a certain time to prove that Joseph 
Morgan had taught false doctrine, and had 
lied to sustain it. Mr. Williams said, "I am 
satisfied my boy Joey will come out of it." 
I said, " I do n't see the hole you are going 
to get him out at." He returned to Salem, 
and told the people I had acted very un- 
becomingly. 

In my next appointment I said I hoped 
he did not aim to misrepresent me, and tried 
to answer him as well as I could. I show^ed 



30 Campbellism 

that his faith was dead when he put it upon 
the blackboard, and he added nothing to it 
to make it living and operative, and it still 
remained dead. It was dead, because he 
placed faith first instead of repentance, just 
as Mr. Campbell had done, in opposition to 
Christ and his apostles. It was dead, be- 
cause he only gave the assent of his mind to 
the statement that Campbell's Gospel was 
true. Mr. Campbell teaches simply an his- 
torical belief in Jesus as the Son of God, 
which even devils possess. The Scriptures 
teach that we shall " believe with the heart 
unto righteousness," or *^ believe to the sav- 
ing of the soul," or have purified the heart 
by faith, or believed on Christ Jesus to life 
everlasting. These expressions seem to 
teach us that we are saved through faith, 
even if we did not submit to baptism. But 
in pursuing this course I find that Paul 
taught the Galatian Christians that they 
were all the so?is of God by faith in Christ 
Jesus, Gal. 3: 26. And again, "But as 
many as received him [Christ], to them gave 
he power to become the sotis of God, even to 
them that believe on his name," John i : 12. 
This faith is also said to work by love, Gal. 
5 : 6. Also, in i Peter i : 9, we have the 
language, " Receiving the end of your faith, 
even the salvation of your souls." And 
Paul, writing to Timothy, spoke of the Holy 
Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise 
unto salvation through faith^ which is in 



In Christian Costume. 31 

Christ Jesus.'' And Peter says, ''Who are 
kept by the power of God through yj7///^ unto 
salvation," i Peter i : 5. These Scrip- 
tures teach that we are adopted into the 
family of God, and saved by faith or through 
faith. Mr. Williams quoted James when he 
said that '' faith without works is dead." But 
if we will read the context we will find that 
James was treating of the professor's faith 
before men, and shows that the most reliable 
evidence that one has true faith is good 
works — the result of its life and action. 
Good works is the sign of life and intelli- 
gence and action. If a man can perform no 
action and has no intelligence, we soon con- 
clude he is destitute of life — is a dead man. 
Seeing the Christian bring forth good works 
according to God's commands, we declare him 
righteous. And thus he is justified before 
men by his works ^ and not by a faith that 
sliows no life, no intelligence, and no action. 
You see, then, how that by works a man is 
justified by men and not by faith only, 
James 2 : 24. Hence we have the work of 
faith in 2 Thess. i : 11. And the Apostle 
Paul said to the Philippians, '' My beloved, 
. . . work out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling. For it is God which 
worketh in you both to will and to do of his 
good pleasure," Phil. 2:12, 13. 

Now let us examine the character which 
James has in mind. i. He says he has faith, 
2. He will not feed the hungry, warm the 



32 Campbellism 

cold, nor clothe the naked, even though they 
be brethren. 3. James tells him that the 
devils' faith is similar — that they believe and 
tremble. 4. He calls him a vain man, and 
asks him if he will know that faith without 
works is dead ? or, to be plainer, Abraham 
believed God, and it was counted to him for 
righteousness, and he was called 2, friend of 
God. So good works show to the world that 
a man is ?ifrie7id of God, and, if a friend of 
God, then he has faith in God. Men can 
not see the Christian's faith ; they can only 
see the fruits of it in good works. God can 
see the faith as a grace in the soul, and by 
that grace we are justified from all things, 
from which we could not be by the law of 
Moses. 

Again, James starts out in his epistle to 
show the difference between the true and 
false professor. The false is the double- 
minded or unstable in all his ways ; the 
true, he who patiently endures temptation. 
The false is a hearer and not a doer, de- 
ceiving himself. The true is a hearer and 
doer of the word. The false professor 
bridleth not his tongue. The true is op- 
posite. The false professor despises the 
poor and oppressed and blasphemes the 
name of God. He then entreats them to so 
speak and so do as they that shall be judged 
by the law of liberty. He then brings for- 
ward the case of a man who professes faith, 
but shows his contempt for the poor and des- 



In Christan Costume. 33 

titute and thus makes it evident that he is 
no friend of God, so that it is evident James 
is speaking of the justification of the pro- 
fessor as a friend of God. 

Now it will appear that Paul is treating of 
the justification of the sinner before God, for 
he is speaking of both God, and the sinner 
as ungodly. Rom. 3 : 30. He says, seeing 
it is one God which shall justify the cir- 
cumcision by faith and the uncircumcision 
through faith, that God did not justify Abra- 
ham by works when he promised him a num- 
erous posterity in Gen. 15 : 6. " For to him 
that worketh is the reward reckoned not of 
grace but of debt. But to him that worketh 
not but believes on him that justifieth the 
the ungodly his faith is counted for right- 
eousness." The conclusion at which we ar- 
rive is, that the sinner can do nothing to 
bring God under obligations to save him, 
but must trust to the mercy and grace of 
Jesus Christ. And to give a summary of 
what has preceded as to faith. 

Proposition 3. Effects of faith, 

I will say that through faith without bap- 
tism the sinner is made : 

1. Righteous. Of the ungodly it is said, 
"His faith is counted for righteousness," 
Rom. 4 : 5. "All that believe are justified 
from all things," Acts 13 : 39. 

2. yiistified, Rom. 3 : 28. "x\ man is 
justified by faith without the deeds of the 

3 



34 Campbellism 

law.'* Rom. 5 : i, "Being justified by faith 
we have peace with God." 

3. Adopted. "Ye are all the children of 
God by faith in Christ Jesus/' Gal. 3 : 26, 
" If children then heirs, heirs of God and 
joint heirs with Christ," Rom. 8:17. " Even 
them which believe on his name," John i : 
12. " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the 
Christ is born of God," i John 5 : i. 

4. Secured from condem?iation. "And shall 
not come into condemnation," John 5 : 24. 
" He that is begotten of God keepeth him- 
self, and that wicked one toucheth him 
not." " For sin shall not have dominion 
over you," Rom. 6 : 14. " Being now made 
free from sin and become servants to God, 
ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end 
everlasting life." 

5. Eve7'lasti7ig life, " He that believeth 
on me hath everlasting life," John 6 : 47. 
"Believe on him to life everlasting," i Tim. 
I : 16. "Also believe to the salvation of 
the soul," Heb. 10 : 39. And again, " receiv- 
ing the end of your faith, even the salvation 
of your souls," i Peter i: 9. "Who are 
kept by the power of God through faith unto 
salvation," i Peter i: 5. "And whosoever 
liveth and believeth in me shall never die," 
John II : 26. And "if any man eat of this 
bread he shall live forever," John 6: 51. 
Sanctified. — " Which are sanctified by faith 
that is in me," Acts 26: 18. Joy. — "Re- 
joice in hope of the glory of God." 



In Christian Costume. 35 

"Yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeak- 
able and full of glory," i Peter 1:8. " Now 
the God of hope fill you with all joy and 
peace in believing," Rom. 15: 12. "Joy 
of faith," Phil, i : 25. "That your rejoicing 
may be more abundant in Christ Jesus," 
26th verse. Saved. — " Thy faith hath saved 
thee," Luke 7 : 50. Again, marginal read- 
ing, "thy faith hath saved thee," Mark 10: 
52. And Jesus said, "Thy faith hath saved 
thee," Luke 18 : 42. "By grace are ye saved 
through faith," Eph. 2 : 8. 

6. Remission of sins. "But to him that 
worketh not, but believeth on him who justi- 
fieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for 
righteousness. Even as David also de- 
scribeth the blessedness of the man, unto 
whom God imputeth righteousness without 
works, saying. Blessed are they whose in- 
iquities are forgiven and whose sins are 
covered," Rom. 4 : 5, 6, 7. " Her sins which 
are many are forgiven," Luke 7: 47. "Jesus 
seeing their faith said. Thy sins be forgiven 
thee," Matt. 9:2. "To him give all the 
prophets witness that through his name 
whosoever believeth in him shall receive re- 
mission of sins," Acts 10 : 43. 

Some of the prophets are, 

I. Isaiah. " By his knowledge shall my 
righteous servant justify many, for he shall 
bear their iniquities," Isa. 43: it. 2. Jer- 
emiah. "And they shall teach no more, 
every man his neighbor, and every man his 



36 Campbellism 

brother, saying, Know the Lord : for they 
shall all know me, from the least of them 
unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : 
for I will forgive their iniquity and remem- 
ber their sins no more,'' Jer. 31 : 34. 3. 
Daniel. ^' Seventy weeks are determined 
upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to 
finish the transgression, and to make an 
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for 
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting right- 
eousness," Dan. 9: 24. 4. Micah. "Who 
is a God like unto thee that pardoneth in- 
iquity, and passeth by the transgression of 
the remnant of his heritage?" Micah 7: 18. 
5. Zachariah. "In that day there shall be 
a fountain opened to the house of David 
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin 
and uncleanness," Zach. 13 : i. 6. Malachi. 
"But unto you that fear my name, shall the 
Son of Righteousness arise with healing in 
his wings," Mai. 4:2. 

A Pure Heart. "And put no difference be- 
tween us and them, purifying their hearts by 
faith." (Acts 15: 9.) " Beloved, now are 
we the sons of God j and we know that when 
he shall appear we shall be like him, for we 
shall see him as he is," i John 3 : 2. "And 
every man that hath this hope in him purifi- 
eth himself even as he is pure, i John 3:3. 
" Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto 
them that are defiled and unbelieving is 
nothing pure, but even their mind and con- 
science is defiled," Titus i: 15. ^'Blessed 



In Christian Costume. 37 

are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," 
Matt. 5: 8, *^Who shall ascend into the 
hill of the Lord ? or who shall stand in his 
holy place ? He that hath clean hands and 
a pure heart," Psalm 24 : 3, 4. " But with- 
out faith it is impossible to please God," 
Heb. 11:6. "All things are possible to him 
that believeth," Mark 9 : 23. 

In Mr. John A. Williams's sermon, he 
said : " Baptism changes our state, baptism 
changes our relation." Mr. Morgan said, 
" We feel no change in baptism. That 
change takes place in the mind of God, and 
we know nothing about it." And Mr. Camp- 
bell, their beloved master, affirmed, '^ Remis- 
sion of sins can not be enjoyed by any 
person in this life previous to baptism." (Mil- 
lennial Harbinger, Vol. i, p. 9.) And again 
he says, '^ Remission of sins can not in this 
life be received and enjoyed previous to im- 
mersion." (Millennial Harbinger, p. 34.) 

In addition to what has been adduced in 
favor of salvation by faith, I shall add one 
or two passages more. The Gospel is said 
to be the "power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth," Romans i : 16. 
And again : "It pleased God by the foolish- 
nees of preaching to save them that believe." 

Mr. Williams gave an illustration to show 
that baptism changes our state, concerning 
the young lady engaged to be married. Now, 
every one who understands law knows that 
the state of the young lady w^as not changed 



38 Campbellism 

by the ceremony, which was a public acknowl- 
edgement of the fact that they were already 
man and wife before witnesses. After the 
bride and bridegroom came upon the floor, 
if he had refused to be married, she could 
have sued him for a marriage contract — so 
that the ceremony did not change her rela- 
tion nor he who pronounced it for them, but 
themselves, by entering into a bo7ia fide con- 
tract to be man and wife so long as they 
both should live. The betrothal changes their 
state and not the public recognition that they 
are man and wife. 

And now permit me to examine some of 
the passages concerning baptism, on which 
Mr. Campbell and his followers rely to prove 
their *' baptismal regeneration." One pass- 
age is, " The like figure whereunto, baptism, 
doth also now save us (not the putting away 
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a 
good conscience toward God) by the resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ." Baptism is here 
called ^. figure, and is like the figurative bap- 
tism of Noah and his family in the ark. 
Noah was a just man, perfect in his genera- 
tion, and walked with God, so that he had a 
good conscience ; and the preparing and enter- 
ing the ark with his family was an answer 
of his good conscience. This answer of his 
good conscience saved him from disobedi- 
ence and from its result — temporal death. 
It was- an answer toward God, because 
God called him to build an ark, and com- 



In Christian Costume. 39 

mancled it of him. The apostle here treats 
of obedience and disobedience ; and he 
shows that baptism is* an answer of a good 
conscience toward God. Now, a good con- 
science must exist before it can answer to 
any call, and baptism is an answer of a good 
conscience only to him who already has one. 
But such baptism must be a figure of the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

In Titus 3:5, we are said to be saved by 
the washing or bath of regeneration and the 
renewing of the Holy Ghost. This word 
(d.vay.av^oia^u}^)^ renewing, occurs five places in 
the New Testament, and applies only to the 
Christian. *^ Renewing of your mind," Rom. 
12 : 2 ; "inward maja renewed," 2 Cor. 4: 
16; "Renewed in knowledge," Col. 3 : 10 ; 
" Renew to repentance," Heb. 6 : 6. Be- 
sides, this renewing of the Holy Ghost was 
shed on them abundantly. This renewing 
of the Holy Ghost is not regeneration, for 
the work of the Holy Spirit must be expe- 
rienced on the heart before his w^ork can be 
renewed. Another passage is Acts 22 : 16: 
"Arise and be baptized and wash away thy 
sins, calling on the name of the Lord." 
When Jesus appeared in the way to Saul, he, 
trembling and astonished, said : " Lord, w4iat 
wilt thou have me to do .''" Thus he called 
on the name of the Lord. He afterward 
fasted and prayed. The Lord called him a 
chosen vessel, and sent Ananias, that he 
might receive his sight and be filled with the 



40 Campbellism 

Holy Spirit. If Paul was not a Christian 
before baptism, Ananias was deceived, for 
he said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And 
if sins are washed away in baptism, it should 
read : *^Arise, and be baptized, and have 
your sins washed away," for the person bap- 
tized is passive, and submits to a figure, 
which represents what has already taken 
place — that is, the washing away of sins by 
the blood of Jesus. Another passage is Gal. 
3: 26, 27: "For ye are all the children of 
God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many 
of you as have been baptized into Christ 
have put on Christ.'' Observe that these 
Galatians are not said to be children of God 
by baptism but by faith ; and the evidence 
of this was that as many as had been bap- 
tized into Christ had put on Christ. 

The principle at which I arrive is thus 
stated : To be baptized into any person or 
thing through water baptism, we must first 
receive that person or thing before such bap- 
tism. " Baptized unto [i^c] Moses," i Cor. 
10 : 2. The Israelites received Moses, and 
followed him before they were baptized into 
him, in the cloud, and in the sea. " I indeed 
baptize you with [h] water unto [s^c] repent- 
ance," Matt. 3: II. Repentance was the 
first thing commanded of John, and if remis- 
sion can not be enjoyed till after baptism, 
neither can repentance, on the same princi- 
ple, which is absurd. Baptized [ii<;] into re- 
mission occurs in Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3; Acts 



In Christian Costume. 41 

2:38: "Into [h^] Jesus," "Into [it^] his 
death," Rom. 6:3: " Into [it-] one body/' 
T Cor. 12 : 13 j and " Into [ic^] Christ," Gal. 
3:27. These are the places where ii-: oc- 
curs in connection with w^ater baptism. I 
am aw^are ctg is sometimes translated y^r in 
connection with baptism ; but this can hardly 
be called a definition of the word. And wif/i 
and m order to are not definitions at all of 
hz^ according to Greenfield and others. 

Christ is to first be received before we are 
to be baptized into him. John tells us that 
they w^ho receive him are those who believe 
on his name, John 1:12. The Pentecostians 
''^gladly received the word^^ before baptism, 
Acts 2 : 41. In like manner the Samaritans 
are said to have " received the word^^' Acts 8 : 
14. " But the natural man receiveth not the 
things of the Spirit of God," i Cor. 2 : 14. 
For he is " dead in trespasses and in sins," 
Eph. 2:1. And being dead spiritually, he 
can not do any thing to please God till he is 
made alive by an almighty energ}^ So no 
act or number of acts are a condition of par- 
don. We are justified h^' faith and through 
faith, but never on account of our faith, llie 
grounds of our pardon are not in ourselves, 
but in God. And "the forgiveness of sins " 
is "according to the riches of his grace," Eph. 
1:7; and " according to the good pleasure of 
hisw^ill," Eph. 1:5. ^'Therefore hath he mercy 
on whom he wall have mercy, and whom he 
will he hardeneth," Rom. 9 : 18. " Can the 



42 Campbellism 

Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his 
spots ^ then may ye also do good, that are 
accustomed to do evil/' Jer. 13 : 23. And 
" no man can come to me, except the Father 
which hath sent me draw hhn," John 6 : 44. 

Proposition 4. There is no condition of Par- 
do7t, but a full snrre?tder is demanded. 

It may not be amiss to add a few examples 
from *' Bringing in Sheaves " to prove that 
there are no conditions of pardon. The Rev. 
A. B. Earle speaks of a lady who had been a 
seeker after Christ for five years. " She had 
said, ' I will never go to an anxious seat to 
be converted/ but had prayed earnestly, 
'Thou knowest, O Lord, I desire to be a 
Christian, and that one seat is as good 
as another. Oh, then take me as I am, 
a poor, lost sinner !' Sometimes she seemed 
almost angry, at other times was bathed in 
tears, but still said, *I will not go to the 
anxious seat.' At last, one evening, after 
scores had gone forward for prayer, she said, 
* I will give up, and do what I have so long 
said I would not' She learned that the 
difficulty was not in any part of the house, 
but in her will. She came forward, and 
every front seat w^as occupied. She had 
scarcely taken a little foot-bench before she 
felt that her sins were forgiven." He also cites 
another case of a business man in New York 
of good moral character, who had sought 
Christ for fifteen years, but who would not 



In Christian Costume. 43 

go to an anxious seat, saying he knew better 
than to do that. One evening he stood up 
in a large assembly, and with deep feeling 
asked the pastor to pray for him ; but no re- 
lief came. But at last he yielded, and de- 
liberately said, "I will do just what I said I 
never would." He started ; but before he 
reached the front seat the burden was re- 
moved, and he felt that his sins were for- 
given. 

He also gives another case of a teacher in 
one of the colleges of New York, who sought 
Christ, but was not willing to let any one 
know about his great anxiety to obtain a 
hope in Christ. At last he discovered his 
difficulty. He had made a condition, and 
had marked out one path in which God 
should not lead him. In his meditation 
one evening he said to himself, " I will give 
up my way, and go now and ask one of the 
professors to pray for me." He started; but 
before he had reached the foot of the stairs, 
he received evidence of sins forgiven. Happy 
in the Lord he returned to his room without 
seeing any Christian, or asking any one to 
pray for him — thus showing there was no 
virtue in the act, but in being willing to 
perform it. 

The Evangelist Luke gives a similar ex- 
ample of the prodigal son, who made up his 
mind to ask even for the place of a hired 
servant ; but his father received him without 
such a request. Moses records another 



44 ■ Campbellism 

example where the will was given up in the 
case of Joseph's brethren when they say, 
''Forgive, I pray thee, how the trespass 
of thy brethren and their sin. . . . And 
his brethren went and fell down before his 
face, and they said. Behold, we be thy serv- 
ants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear 
not, for am 1 in the place of God? I will 
nourish you and your little ones ; and he 
comforted, and spake kindly to them," 
Gen. 50: 17, etc. Another example is re- 
corded by Luke of ten lepers who said, 
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us." Jesus 
said to them, " Go, show yourselves unto the 
priest. And it came to pass, as they wait^ 
they were cleansed." 

Proposition 5. Ca?npbellism is unreasonable. 

The angels of God joy over the repenting 
sinner. But there are those who can not 
truly repent, for God withholds these graces 
from them on account of their sins. All 
these could obey Mr. Campbell's gospel, but 
can not obey Christ. Some of these are : 

ist. Esau, the profane person, who "found 
no place of repentance, though he sought it 
carefully with tears," Heb. 12 : 17. 

2d. Those who did not choose the fear of the 
Lord. " Then shall they call upon me, but 
I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, 
but they shall not find me," Prov. i : 28. 

3d. A sinful nation. "And when ye 
spread forth your hands, I will hide mine 



In Christian Costume. 45 

eyes from you ; yea, when you make many 
prayers, I will not hear," Isa. 1:15. 

4th. Unmerciful oppressors. Then shall 
*^they cry, but none giveth answer," Job 
35 • 12. 

5th. Those who filled the land with vio- 
lence. "And though they cry in mine ears 
with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them," 
Ezk. 8 : 18. " Therefore it is come to pass that 
as he cried, and they would not hear, so they 
cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord," 
Zech. 7 : 13- 

6th. The wicked Jews. " Therefore they 
could not believe, because that Esaias said 
again. He hath blinded their eyes, and 
hardened their heart ; that they should not 
see with their eyes, nor understand with their 
heart, and be converted, and I should heal 
them," John 12 : 39, 40. 

But all these could obey Mr. Campbell's 
gospel, for he says the three thousand Pente- 
costian converts were commanded to reform, 
and not to repent. It (repentance) is not to 
be sorry for the past, it is not to be grieved 
for our transgressions. (Millennial Harbin- 
ger, Vol. I, p. 57.) Heartless, cold opera- 
tion ! No penitence, no sorrow for sin 1 

And here is where his noted disciple 
stands, Mr. John A. Williams. He says 
crying and weeping does no good ; repent- 
ance is not sorrow, and Webster gives a 
wrong definition. He here out-Campbells 
Campbell, for he did not find fault with either 



46 Campbellism 

Webster or the Greek lexicons. He does not 
claim that iieravoia was translated by either 
its primary or secondary meaning when he 
translated it " reform/' He chose a definition 
to suit his gospel, and simply said, I'here is 
nothing hazarded, nothing lost by translating 
it*' reform." (Christian System, p. 69.) Green- 
field defines it "repentance : that is, a change 
of mind and purpose ; a change of one's 
mode of thinking, feeling, and acting ; 
reformation ; primary definition, repentance, 
a change of mind and purpose." Robinson 
defines it, " To change one's mind and pur- 
pose," and Parkhurst defines it the same 
way. The Corinthians '' sorrowed to repent- 
ance," and were "made sorry after a godly 
manner," and were taught that " godly sor- 
row worketh repentance," 2 Cor. 7 : 10. 
Godly sorrow is a sorrow from God, and is an 
essential element of repentance, as will ap- 
pear by the teaching of the apostles and 
prophets. 

I St. God says by Joel to the drunkards and 
oppressors, " Turn ye even to me with all 
your heart, and with fasting, and with weep- 
ing, and with mourning : and rend your heart, 
and not your garments," Joel 2 : 12, 13. 

2d. God says by Zechariah, "And I will 
pour upon the house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace 
and of supplications : and they shall look 
upon me whom they have pierced, and they 
shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his 



In Christian Costume. 47 

only son, and shall be in bitterness for him 
as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." 
Zech. 12 : 10. 

3d. The Apostle James says, " Cleanse 
your hands, ye sinners ; purify your hearts, 
ye double-minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, 
and weep : let your laughter be turned to 
mourning, and your joy to heaviness,'^ James 
4 : 8, 9. 

4th. Jesus was anointed "to comfort all 
that mourn ; to appoint unto them that mourn 
in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, 
the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heaviness," Isa. 61 : 2, 3. 

5th. The sinner who began to wash the 
feet of our Lord with tears, and wipe them 
with the hairs of her head ; who also kissed 
them, and anointed them with ointment, 
Luke 7 : 47. Jesus said of her, "Her sins, 
which are many, are forgiven, for she loved 
much." 

6th. The publican gives us another ex- 
ample of repenting sorrow. He could not 
lift so much as his eyes unto heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, " God be 
merciful to me a sinner," Luke 18 : 13. 

7th. The blind beggar near Jericho, who 
cried, saying, " Jesus, thou son of David, have 
mercy on me." When rebuked, "he cried 
out so much the more, Thou son of David, 
have mercy on me. When brought to 
Jesus," our Lord said, "Receive thy sight: 
thy faith hath saved thee," Luke 18 : 35. 



48 Campbellism 

8th. The penitent thief on the cross — I 
say penitent, for he acknowledged he was 
justly condemned, and suffering the due re- 
ward of his deeds ; asserted the innocence of 
Jesus, and prayed to him ; and received an 
answer most blessed, Luke 23 : 48. 

9th. The Ninevites also illustrate repent- 
ant sorrow by fasting and crying "mightily 
unto God," in humility, on account of their 
sins, Jonah 3 : 8. 

loth. The Syrophenician Gentile who cried 
to Jesus, saying, " Have mercy on me, O 
Lord, thou son of David!" Our Savior did 
not quickly grant her request. " Then she 
came and worshiped him, saying, Lord, 
help me." He said, " O woman, great is thy 
faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt," 
Matt. 15 : 28. 

nth. Cornelius feared God, gave much 
alms, prayed to God always, and God heard 
his prayer before baptism. Acts 10: 31. 

12th. Lydia w^orshiped God, listened to 
the apostles, and the Lord opened her heart 
before baptism. Acts 16 : 15. 

These are examples of persons who had 
not received baptism, saying nothing about 
the inquiring eunuch, the trembling Saul of 
Tarsus, and the frightened jailor. 

Proposition 6. God hates the wicked and 
loves the righteous. 

In addition I will add a word about God 
hating and loving sinners. Any power or 



In Christian Costume. 49 

element for safety is the same power or ele- 
ment for destruction. This is so plain as to 
need no proof, and in accordance with it, 

'''God is love,'^ 1 John "Our God is a con- 
4 : 8. suniing fire/' Heb. 

12 : 29. 
"Behold the goodness and severity of God," 

Rom. II : 22. 
"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 

hated," Rom. 9 : 

13- 

"God judgeth the and is angry wdth the 
righteous wicked every day," 

Ps. 7 : II. 
"The Lord loveth the Thou hates t all work- 
righteous," Ps. 146: ers of iniquity," 
8. Ps. s : 5. 
"For a just man fall- He that is abhorred of 
eth seven times and the Lord shall 
riseth up again,'* fall," Prov. 24 : 16. 
Prov. 24: 16. 
" The Lord loveth the but the wicked and 
righteous, him that loveth 
violence his soul 
hateth." Ps. 11 : 5. 

These few examples show us that God 
does hate sinners notwithstanding any hu- 
man assertion to the contrary. And the 
greater the sinner the more he merits God's 
displeasure. 

I was afterward moved to talk to Mr. Wil- 
liams and convince him if possible of the 
4 



50 Campbellism 

falsity of Campbellism, so I went to his 
house, where he gave me a cordial recep- 
tion. After we were seated he said, "Take 
my yoke upon you. Now that is the govern- 
ment, and you have nothing but that Meth- 
odist yoke. Just be baptized into the Chris- 
tian Church and go to preaching." I replied, 
" Oh ! but you said I had nothing but a dead 
faith." He said, " I am satisfied your faith 
is right. Just be baptized into the Christian 
Church and go to preaching I would not 
put it off a day ; no, not an hour." Again I 
replied, "You said I had nothing but a dead 
faith." He said, "I had no allusion to you, 
and the congregation could not have under- 
stood me so. I said if they trusted in their 
prayers, they had nothing but a dead faith." 
His wnfe was then present. I said, "They 
could not have understood you otherwise." 
I then set up his battery, and told him how 
at the conclusion he cut off the ciphers, and 
said, he cared nothing about baptism and 
had nothing but a dead faith, and yt^/M was 
the starting point. He said, ''Oh, you are 
no Methodist. Just be baptized into the 
Christian Church and go to preaching. 
They make it the third point. If you would 
go up here and talk that way they would 
throw you out. Just be baptized and go to 
preaching." I told him that faith was not a 
saving or justifying faith. He said his faith 
was all right at that time. Then he tried 
to illustrate Mr. Campbell's gospel, saying, 



In Christian Costume. 51 

" Suppose a criminal under sentence of 
death sues for a reprieve, which is granted 
on the condition that he depart from the 
State in ten days. He might have the re- 
prieve in his possession v^ith the governor's 
signature, but lie is not pardoned before he 
passes tlie boundary of the State. Pardon 
takes place in Springfield and he knows 
nothing about it until he sees the reprieve. 
The New Testament is our reprieve, and our 
pardon takes place in heaven. You have 
doubts, I do n't have any.^' 

I replied, ^' Now, you must admit there are 
either degrees in faith or an increase of 
faith." He said, " There is no increase in 
faith in the Bible." I said, "The apostles 
called on the Lord to increase their faith, 
and it must be there." He got his concor- 
dance and seemed to think he could find it 
in a few minutes if it was in the Bible. His 
daughter then came into the room. He 
looked some time then he said, *' I can 't 
find' it and I know it is not in here." 
I said, " It is there." He then commenced 
on the word faith and soon called out, "Lord 
increase our faith," — stopped short — sat 
awhile as if in a deep study, then said, " It 
may be in here, but it might take me a long 
time to find it. You see, I might have to 
run down three or four columns here, and it 
do n't amount to much any how." His 
daughter was still waiting. So I promised 
to find it and tell him where it was. As I 



52 Campbellism 

was leaving he came to the door and ex- 
horted me to obey the Gospel, I told him 
" The Apostle Paul said, ' They have not all 
obeyed the Gospel/ For Esaias said, ''who 
hath believed our report, and to whom is 
the arm of the Lord revealed ?' Being bap- 
tized is not obeying the Gospel." He said, 
'' Well, it is a part of it " I said, " I might 
have gone to the creek and declared that 
God for Christ's sake had pardoned my sins 
in baptism — lied to God and to the world, 
and God might have given me over to hard- 
ness of heart and reprobacy of mind to 
believe a lie and be damned." He said, 
'' Oh do n't be so hard on our people !" 

Having returned home I took the concor- 
dance and called down just as he did and 
found it in Luke 17:5. When I went back 
there was a preacher of the same faith, 
whom Mr. Williams got after me. I told 
him their doctrine was false beyond a possi- 
ble doubt. He said, *'You trust in your 
dreams and feelings, we trust in the Word 
of the Lord." Mr. Williams told me I 
would soon be a fit subject for Jacksonville. 
I said, '*Did you find that Scripture you af- 
firmed was not in the Bible?" He said, 
** Yes, directly after you left." I said, 
''Didn't you find it before?" He said, 
" No." I told him how he called down to 
it and said, " Lord, increase our faith." He 
said, ''I might have called down to it." 

Some months passed away and I was 



In Christian Costume. 53 

again at his house in his presence and in 
the presence of his son-in-law, Mr. Erwin. 
He gave me a rehgious interview and told 
me about his early rehgious profession. He 
said he prayed at the mourner's bench, 
trusted in Christ and found peace in believ- 
ing, but his sins were not pardoned, for he 
trusted in what they told him, he must make 
a full surrender. It was not a Methodist 
meeting, but of the Christians before they 
learned better. I told him I wanted him to 
go out to the Nation School-house and de- 
fend his doctrine, for he had preached false 
doctrine there. He said, "Want me to de- 
bate with you? too little, too little !" Rais- 
ing his left arm he said, "/ am a big man. 
If you will get some of your presiding elders 
1 will meet them." I told him he had ad- 
vanced false doctrine from his battery and 
I wanted him to defend it. He said, " Talk 
about my having a battery ! I had no bat- 
tery." I then set up his battery and showed 
him how he operated it, and what he said 
at the close of the operation. He again de- 
nied it. I said, " I have proved you said it 
by your congregation, and that you never 
said if they trusted in their prayers they had 
nothing but a dead faith." He said, "All 
the slang [or, the most slang] I ever received 
came from that nasty, dirty, little Church. 
The Methodist Church has nothing but the 
devil's faith." 

On September 15, 1870 I went to Mr. 



54 Campbellism 

French's in search of the spring. His house 
was beautifully situated on a high hill. 
There I met him, and inquired for the spring. 
He said it was some distance away, and he 
would go with me after dinner (I always ap- 
preciate a good dinner). So, at the time 
appointed, we went down a long hill about 
half a mile, and came to two springs. He 
first directed my attention to the one to the 
north. I said that could not be the right 
one, for I went an east course from the house 
in my dream. He said the other was a di- 
rect east course. So we w^ent on to it ; and 
every thing looked right. I showed him 
which way I came in. He said the road 
came along that way, turned around the 
house, and came by the spring, and that I 
came the near way in my dream. I showed 
him how I came to the side of the spring, 
where I stood, how I stepped round to the 
outlet and turned off to the left, not crossing 
the stream, and looking back saw the open 
space above. He took me back into the 
open space, where there ^ was a spring walled 
round like a w^ell, but I could see nothing 
like the stone I saw in my dream. I had 
wondered much how I could see the stone 
in the spring in and above the water. 

After I left the spring I found all to cor- 
respond exactly with my dream, except the 
two men and stone. Mr. French proposed 
to go back by the other spring. We started 
the same way I went in my dream. When 



In Christian Costume. 55 

we came near I saw the stone, and could not 
keep my hands off. It looked exactly as it 
did in my dream, except there was no water 
touching it. Mr. French said that at the 
time of my dream the water was there, and 
there was water in the open space also. 
When we returned, he said : '' Did I under- 
stand you to say our doctrine is false ?" I 
said, " It is false beyond a doubt.'' I then 
told him that when Mr. Stockton was writ- 
ing for me, he stated the spring was walled 
with stone. And I said that would not do, 
for I had found no wall in that spring. His 
wife said, '^ The spring is walled." He said, 
"Yes; but we could not see it from where 
we were standing." 

As I returned I overtook Mr. Bowler 
Jack, who said Mr. French told him of a 
man, who described his farm as well as he 
could, and he believed he was going to join 
them. 

Now, when it was revealed to me that Mr. 
French was the man whom I saw in my 
dream, I knew the Lord required me to do 
something. And I was willing to do what 
was required, even if it was to submit to bap- 
tism by Mr. French. But when it was re- 
vealed that I should show Campbellism to 
be false, it grieved my very heart. Sleep 
fled from me. I wept night and day over 
my incompetency, and even disturbed my 
wife's sleep so much by tears and sobs till I 
had to confess that the Lord had called me 



56 Campbellism 

to a great work, for which I was incompetent. 
I went to brother Bundy and told him of 
it, and wanted to go to conference for help. 
He told me conference had adjourned. I 
told him there was a book to be written, and 
the traveling ministers of orthodox Churches 
were to be agents ; that it was to condemn 
infidelity, whether in the garb of Christianity 
or otherwise j that there is a great battle to 
be fought, and that I had to stand in the 
front ; but I could not see why the Lord had 
not called some one who was competent. He 
encouraged me to go on according to my 
convictions of duty. And soon it was all 
over the country that I was crazy. Some 
thought one thing, and some another. Mr. 
Russell Brown, of Lynchburg, who is a fine 
man, said : " I knew Mr. Davis when he was 
a man of a very strong mind." He, no 
doubt, was honest in his opinion. He also 
said, '' He is now losing his mind." I 
thought I was only coming to my senses. So 
I got all the evidence I could for the next 
quarterly-meeting. There I was present on 
Sunday, and heard the elder preach. He 
grew enthusiastic, and talked as if he was 
instructing penitent-seekers for salvation. 
He came to a point, where he said, " Oh for 
a little more faith." Then he made a great 
sweep with his arm, saying, " Get out of the 
way with your faith! come right to Jesus." 
And here my craziness appeared again, for 
I could not see how anv one could come to 



In Christian Costume. 57 

Jesus if faith was kicked out of the way : 
" For he that cometh to God must beUeve 
that he is and that he is a rewarder of them 
that diligently seek him," Heb. 11:6. ^'And 
without faith it is impossible [even] to please 
Him,'' Heb. 11: 6; and again, "No man 
can come to me, except it were given hira 
of my father," John 6 : 65. And as Jesus is 
the " author and finisher of our faith," Heb. 
12 : 2, as well as the " author of eternal sal- 
vation, "he must give the ability to believe 
before any one can " believe on him to ever- 
lasting life." 

On Monday I met brother House and the 
elder at brother Bundy's. I told the elder I 
was not crazy. He said that was no evi- 
dence. I told him I knew it was not, for a 
crazy man thought he knew more than any 
one else. He inquired about my ability to 
write a book. I said I had none. He said, 
"You will make enemies; you will injure 
your reputation. See, now, they say you are 
crazy. The best talent of the world has 
been engaged against that doctrine, and it 
has done no good. And what good would 
it do if you get the book written ? What 
would it prove ?" I said it would prove the 
operation of the Holy Spirit. He said : 
" Sir, God has nothing to do with it ! I 
do n't believe God exercises any supernatu- 
ral power; we know the devil does." 

This looked like a dark time.^ The Camp- 
bellites were stirred up against me. My own 



58 Campbellism 

Church was against me, and many others 
regarding me as becoming insane. But 
darkness and light are often both ahke to 
faith, and I said from the bottom of my 
heart. The book will be written. I went 
home, and carefully read about Gideon's 
success, and took courage. 

Here, now, are some of their terms of de- 
ception : " Christian Church^^'' which is a 
Campbellite society, often denying Campbell, 
as their leader. ^'Obeying the Gospel,'^ is to 
be immersed to pardon past sins. ''Preach- 
ing ?iothi7ig but the Bible,''' is preaching Camp- 
bellism, which claims to be the Bible. ''Ira- 
dition " is what they call a religio7i that one 
can feel. 

Proposition 7. The Commandments not abol- 
ished, versus Campbellism, 

The Ten Commandments, which contain 
God's law, are taught in the New Testa- 
ment, as well as the Old, They are not 
abolished, for "Whosoever, therefore, shall 
break one of the least of these command- 
ments, and teach men so, he shall be called 
the least in the kingdom of heaven ; but 
whosoever shall do and teach them, the 
same shall be called great in the kingdom 
of heaven/' Matt. 5 : 19. And again, "Know 
ye not, brethren, how that the law hath 
dominion over a man as long as he liveth? " 
Rom. 7:1. " I am not come to destroy 
the law or the prophets, but to fulfill," Matt. 



In Christian Costume. 59 

5 : 17. "The law is holy, and the com- 
mandment holy, just, and good," Rom. 7 : 
12. " For this is the covenant tiiat I will 
make with the house of Israel after those 
days, saith the Lord : I will put my laws 
into their mind, and and write them i7i their 
hearts. I will be to them a God, and they 
shall be to me a people," Heb. 8 : 10. 

First Commaiidmejit. " Neither be ye idol- 
aters," I Cor. 10: 7. "Little children, keep 
yourselves from idols," i John 5: 21. 

Seco7id Commandment. *^ Wherefore, my 
dearly beloved, flee from idolatry," i Cor. 
10: 14. "Professing themselves' to be wise, 
they became fools, and changed the glory of 
the uncorruptible God into an image, made 
like to corruptible man, and to birds and 
four-footed beasts and creeping things. Who 
changed the truth of God into a lie, and 
worshiped and served . the creature more 
than the Creator, who is blessed forever," 
Rom. I : 22, 23, 25. 

Third Comma?tdme?it. " Swear not at all," 
Matt. 5 : 34. " But above all things, my 
brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, 
neither by the earth, neither by any other 
oath," James 5 : 12. 

Fourth Commandment. The Jewish Sab- 
bath was " a shadow of things to come." 
" Let no man therefore judge you in meat, 
or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or 
of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days : 
which are a shadow of things to come ; but 



6o Campbellism 

the body is Christ," Col. 2 : 16, 17. "Then 
the same clay at evening, being the first clay 
of the week, when the doors were shut, 
. . . eame Jesus and stood in the midst, 
and saith unto them, Peace be unto you," 
John 20 : 19. *'And after eight days again 
his disciples were within, and Thomas with 
them : then came Jesus, the doors being 
shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace 
be unto you," John 20: 26. '* Now concern- 
ing the collection for the saints, as I have 
given order to the Churches of Galatia, even 
so do ye." " Upon the first day of the week 
let every one of you lay by him in store, as 
God has prospered him," i Cor. 16 : i, 2. 
"And upon the first day of the week, when 
the disciples came together to break bread, 
Paul preached unto them, . . . and con- 
tinued his speech until midnight," Acts 20: 
7. *' Not forsaking the assembling of your- 
selves together, as the manner of some is," 
Heb. 10: 25. "I was in the Spirit on the 
Lord^s day," Rev. i : 10. 

Fifth Commandment, " Honor thy father 
and thy mother," Matt. 19: 19. "Honor 
thy father and mother ; which is the first 
commandment with promise," Eph. 6: 2. 
" Children, obey your parents in all things : 
for this is well pleasing unto the Lord," Col. 
3: 20. 

Sixth Commandme7it, " Thou shalt not 
kill," Rom. 13 : 9. "Thou shalt do no mur- 
der," Matt. 19 : 18. " But let none of you 



In Christian Costume. 6i 

suffer as a murderer," i Pet. 4: 15. "Who- 
soever hateth his brother is a murderer : and 
ye know that no murderer hath eternal life 
abiding in him," i JohPx 3 : 15. 

Seve7ith Commandment, " Thou shalt not 
commit adultery," Matt. 19 : 18 ; Rom. 13 : 
9. " But I say unto you that, whosoever 
looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath 
committed adultery with her already in his 
heart," Matt. 5 : 28. 

Eighth Co7nma7idment. " Thou shalt not 
steal," Rom. 13 : 9 ; Matt. 19: 18. ''Let 
him that stole steal no more," Eph. 4 : 28. 
" Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor 
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor 
thieves, . . . shall inherit the kingdom 
of God," I Cor. 6 : 9, 10. 

Ninth Co7nmafidment- ''Thou shalt not 
bear false witness," Matt. 19 : 18 ; Rom. 13 : 
9. " Do violence to no man, neither accuse 
any falsely ^^^ Luke 3 : 14. "Without natural 
affection, truce-breakers, false accusers^ in- 
continent, fierce, despisers of those that are 
good," 2 Tim. 3 : 3. 

Te7ith Co77imandme72t. " Thou shalt not 
covet," Rom. 13 : 9 ; Rom. 7 : 7. "And he 
said unto them. Take heed, and beware of 
covetousness," Luke 12 : 15. "For the love 
of money is the root of all evil, which, while 
some coveted after, they have erred from the 
faith, and pierced themselves through with 
many sorrows," i Tim. 6: 10. "For we 
brought nothing into this world, and it is 



62 Campbellism 

certain we can carry nothing out," i Tim. 
6: 7. 

The Savior's words are, ^^Till heaven and 
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no 
wise pass from the law till {ravra) all be 
fulfilled." (''All things," Greenfield: "in 
heaven and earth," Wesley ) And the Apos- 
tle Paul teaches that, instead of making void 
the law through faith, we establish the law, 
Rom. 3 : 31. ''For this is the love of God 
that w^e keep his commandments, and his 
commandments are not grievous," i John 
5:3. And they that are without fault be- 
fore the throne of God are said to " keep 
the commandments of God, and the faith 
of Jesus," Rev. 14: 12. In Isaiah 42: 21, 
it is said, ''He will magnify the law, and 
make it honorable." This Christ did. He 
raised it so high in the estimation of the 
apostles that they could see its spirituality, 
and that it was holy, just, and good. So, 
instead of Christians being released from 
obedience to the law, they are the only ones 
who can obey it. And this they can not do 
by their own natural agency or energy, for 
the Apostle Paul says, "The carnal mind is 
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
can be." 

Proposition 8. The Bible, versus Sotil sleep- 
ing. 

" Man giveth up the ghost, and where is 
he?" Job 14: 10. While the bodies of the 



In Christian Costume. 6$ 

saints wait in the grave, their souls or spirits 
go immediately to God. This is proved : 

1. By direct assertions of Scripture. " Who 
knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, 
and the spirit of the beast that goeth down- 
ward to the earth?" Eccl. 3: 21. "Then 
shall the dust return to the earth as it was : 
and the spirit shall return unto God who 
gave it/^ Eccl. 12:7. " For I am in a strait 
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and 
to be with Christ ; which is far better : nev- 
ertheless to al^iWe in the flesh is more needful 
for you,'' Phil, i : 23, 24. Here, to be with 
Christ, and to abide in the flesh, are put in 
contrast. 

2. By examples of the soul going from, 
and coming to, the body. Of Rachel it is 
said, when she died, that ^'her soul was in 
departing,'^ Gen. 35: 18; and Elijah, in 
raising the widow's son, cried, saying, "O 
Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's 
soul come into him again," i Kings 17 : 21 ; 
and Job asks the question, '' For what is the 
hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, 
when God taketh away his souIV Job 27:8; 
and God said to the rich man, "Thou fool, 
this night thy soul shall be required of thee," 
Luke 12 : 20 ; and Christ, in raising Jairus's 
daughter, said, " Maid, arise. And her spirit 
came agaifi, and she arose straightway," 
Luke 8 : 54, 55. 

3. Christ's description of dead saints. 
" Neither can they die any more : for they 



64 Campbellism 

are equal unto the angels ; and are the children 
of God, being the children of the resurrec- 
tion. Now that the dead are raised^ even 
Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth 
the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God 
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is 
not a God of the dead, but of the living : for 
all live imto hini^^^ Luke 20 : 36-38. 

4. Appearances of those long dead. The 
witch of Endor called Samuel from the dead, 
and he talked with Saul, and Saul knew him, 
I Sam. 28 : 15. Of the valley of dry bones 
in Ezekiel's vision it is said, "And the breath 
came into them, and they lived, and stood 
up upon their feet, an exceeding great army,'' 
Ezk. 37: 10. And of Israel, which is repre- 
sented by these dry bones, it is said, '^Ye 
shall know that I am the Lord, when I have 
opened your graves, O my people, and 
brought you up out of your graves, and 
shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall 
live,'' Ezk. 37 : 13, 14. And it is said of the 
dead bodies of the two prophets, "After 
three days and an half the spirit of life from 
God entered into them, and they stood upon 
their feet ; and great fear fell upon them 
which saw them," Rev. 11 : 11. At Christ's 
transfiguration there appeared unto them 
(Christ's disciples) Moses and Elias talking 
with him, Matt. 17 : 3. "And, behold, there 
talked with him two men, which were Moses 
and Elias : who a,ppeared in glory, and spake 
of his decease which he should accomplish 



In Christian Costume. 65 

at Jerusalem," Luke 9 : 30, 31. The Lord 
had said unto Moses, ^'Behold, thou shalt 
sleep with thy fathers ^'^ Deut. 31 : 16. After 
Christ's resurrection it is said, '^Many bodies 
of the saints which slept arose," Matt. 27 : 52. 
And it is reasonable to infer that only the 
bodies of the dead are said to sleep, and not 
the soul or spirit. 

5. Expressions concerning death. Job 
seems to state a general principle that ''man 
giveth up the ghost." This is said of Abra- 
ham, Gen. 25 : 8 ; of Isaac, Gen. 35 : 9 ; of 
Jacob, Gen. 49 : t^t^ ; of Ishmael, Gen, 25 : 
17. In the New Testament it is said of 
Ananias, Acts 5:5; and of Herod, Acts 12 : 
23. Judas is said to have fallen by trans- 
gression from the apostleship " that he might 
go to his own place,''^ Acts i : 25. Christ 
speaks still plainer concerning him, saying to 
the Father, *' Those that thou gavest me T 
have kept, and none of them is lost, but 
[Jndas] the son of perdition ; that the Scrip- 
ture might be fulfilled," John 17:12. Of the 
rich man and Lazarus it is said, " The beg- 
gar [Lazarus] died, and was carried by the 
angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man 
also died, and was buried : and in hell he 
lifted up his eyes, being in torments," Luke 
16 : 22, 23. Abraham speaks to him of Laz- 
arus, saying, ''Now he is comforted, and 
thou art tormented," Luke 16: 25. The 
prayer of Stephen is, " Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit," Acts 7 : 59. And our Lord also 

5 



66 Campbellism 

said, " Father, into thy hands I commend 
my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up 
the ghost," Luke 23 : 46. He had just said 
to the dying thief, '' To-day shalt thou be 
with me in paradise," Luke 2^ : 43. Paul 
calls the third heaven paradise, 2 Cor. 12 : 
2 and 4 ; and the Spirit says by the apostle, 
" To him that overcometh will 1 give to eat 
of the /ree of life, which is in the midst of the 
paradise of GodT Furthermore, we are told 
that the tree of life is on either side of the 
crystal river which proceeds " out of the 
throne of God and of the Lamb," Rev. 22 : 
I, 2. And the Apostle Paul says, " Though 
our outward man perish, yet the inward man 
is renewed day by day," 2 Cor. 4: 16. 
" Therefore we are always confident, know- 
ing that, whilst we are at home in the body, 
we are absent from the Lord," 2 Cor. 5 : 6. 
•^We are confident, I say, and willing rather 
to be absent from the body, and to be pres- 
ent with the Lord," 2 Cor. 5 : 8. Here Paul 
teaches us that to be absent fro?n the body 
is to be present with the Lord. 

David mourned for his sick child, and 
when he heard of its death, he said to his 
servants, " But now he is dead, wherefore 
should I fast ? Can I bring him back again ?" 
2 Sam. 12 : 23. Christ says, "He that hat- 
eth his life in this world shall keep it unto 
life eternal^'' John 12 : 25. Again : "If any 
man serve me, let him follow me ; and where 
I am, there shall also my servant be,^ John 



In Christian Costume. 67 

12: 26. Again: "Whosoever liveth and 
believeth in me shall never die. Believest 
thou this?'' John 11, 26. *^ He hath said, 
I will never leave thee^ nor forsake thee^^^ Heb. 
13 : 5. "And I will pray the Father, and 
he shall give you another Comforter, that he 
may abide with you forever. . . . Ye 
know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and 
shall be i7i yoii^^^ John 14 : 16, 17. " Though 
I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with 
me; thy rod and^thy staff they comfort me^^^ 
Psalm 23: 4. "Receiving the end of your 
faith, even the salvation of your souls,''' i Pet. 
1:9. " For he that is entered into his rest, he 
also has ceased from his own works, as God 
did his. Let us labor therefore to enter into 
that rest,'' etc., Heb. 4: 10, 11. And the 
Apostle Paul, in speaking of "so great a 
cloud of witnesses " to the Christian race, 
says to the saints, " But ye are come unto 
Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living 
God," Heb. 12 : 22. "No man can say that 
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," 
I Cor. 12:3. 

Proposition 9. Future eternal punishment 
reasonable and true. 

Future punishment is according to both 
reason and Scripture. For if "evil seducers 
w^ax worse and worse " in this world till 
death, it is reasonable to suppose that their 
progression in sin will continue in the world 



6S Campbellism 

to come. Sin is a nature: "And were by 
nature children of wrath," Eph. 2:3. A 
p7'inciple : "When I would do good, evil is 
present with me/^ Rom. 7: 21. An act: 
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against 
thy neighbor," Ex. 20, 16. "But he that 
shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath 
never forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal 
sin." This reading is sustained by the best 
authority, and " whosoever speaketh against 
the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, 
neither in this world, neither in the world to 
come," Mark 12: 32. The "Lord . . . 
will not acquit the wicked," Nahum 1:3. 

The rich man who in hell lifted up his 
eyes, being in torment (Luke 16 : 23), sin7ied, 
(i.) By trying to change God's justice into 
mercy — " Father Abraham, have mercy on 
me," verse 24 ; (2.) By trying to rob Lazarus 
of his comfort — " Send Lazarus," verse 24. 
(3.) By originating a new gospel — " Send 
him to my father's house," verse 27 ; (4.) By 
declaring that his gospel would save man, 
verse 30. His was to be a gospel of warning, 
preached by one risen from the dead. Abra- 
ham condemned it as useless, and showed 
that the state of the righteous and wicked 
was so fixed that they could not supplement 
God's redemptive work. "There is a gr^at 
gulf fixed," verse 26, between them. And 
instead of quenching the flame of remorse, 
he was kindling it into a burning intensity 
by adding sin to sin. " For wickedness burn- 



In Christian Costume. 69 

eth as a fire/' Isa. 9:18; and it is like a fire 
in its attraction, in its expansion, in that it 
must be resisted as a destroyer. Matthew 
19: 26, "With God all things are possible" 
(capable of being done — Greenfield). He- 
brews 6: 18, "It was impossible for God to 
lie." "To lie " here is to fail to do what de- 
pends on his immutable counsel and oath. 
(See context.) "The counsel of the Lord 
standeth forever/' Psalm ^:^'. 11. "So I 
sware in my wrath, I'hey shall not enter into 
my rest," Heb. 3: 11. So that the wicked 
" shall be tormented day and night forever 
and ever," Rev. 20 : 10. 

Mr. Campbell got up a gospel of baptism, 
and the Scriptures are very plain about him 
who brings a gospel other than Christ's. 
Again it is said the wicked " shall be pun- 
ished with everlasting destruction from the 
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of 
his power," 2 Thess. 1:9. " These shall go 
away into everlasting punishment : but the 
righteous into life eternal," Matt. 25 : 46. 
And that they "shall drink of the wine of 
the wrath of God, which is poured out with- 
out mixture into the cup of his indignation," 
Rev. 14: 10. All this is according to rea- 
son, for there is no principle in nature but 
that there is an opposite principle. So if 
the righteous are saved eternally, the wicked 
are lost eternally, and if reason can destroy 
a hell of endless suffering, it will destroy a 
heaven of endless enjoyment. But "there is 



70 Campbellism 

no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel 
against the Lord," Prov. 2 : 30. 

And now as to the nam.e. The Bible tells 
us nothing about the '' Christian Church" — 
that is no Bible name for a Church. The 
disciples were no doubt called " Christians," 
because they followed Christ. By the same 
principle the followers of Alex. Campbell 
should wear his name. Denying him as 
their leader can no more change their name 
than could Peter change his name by deny- 
ing Christ. He was trying to deceive others 
by his denial, though he was pressed to it 
through fear. They deny Campbell, because 
it is often necessary to deceive others before 
they will join them. Knowing this, they 
often deny Campbell, and preach the doc- 
trine of the Bible till many are deceived. 
Then they rejoice in what they have done, 
and preach the doctrine of the "Christian 
system," which is Mr. Campbell's gospel. 
Many not only deny their name, but deny 
the existence of such a book. But they can 
not blot it out of existence any more than they 
can change their name. Often they tell us, 
"We preach nothing but the Bible." This 
is true, if Campbellism is the Bible. But I 
have proved that it is far from it. So they 
should say, we preach Campbellism, which 
claims to be according to the Bible. That 
is the true meaning of their " nothi7tg but the 
Bible.^^ If I am deceived in this, will Mr. 



In Christian Costume. 71 

Williams or Mr. Morgan please unde- 
ceive me ? 

And now we come to 

Proposition 10. The kftowledge of God is 
given in the remission of sins. 

This is 

I. A revelation from God to the human 
soul, as will appear, {a) From the words of 
Christ to Peter. When Peter said, '' Thou 
art the Christ the son of the living God," 
our Savior answered, '' Blessed art thou, Si- 
mon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not 
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which 
is in heaven," Matt. 16: 17. It seems that 
this revelation was not made known to him 
by man, nor even by Christ as man, for flesh 
and blood did not reveal it, but the Father 
of our Lord. And it is not too much to say 
that every true Christian has this fact re- 
vealed to him, as Peter did. {b) By the words 
of Paul to the Galatians, "It pleased God 
to reveal his son in me, that I might preach 
him among the heathen," Gal. i : 16. {c) 
One of Christ's disciples asked for an explana- 
tion of this blessed truth, saying, *' Lord, how 
is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and 
not unto the world ?" Jesus answered, " We 
will come unto him, and make our abode with 
him," John 14 : 23. " I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and he with me," Rev. 
3 : 20. (^) Expressions from the prophets. 
Esaias said, "Lord, who hath believed our 



72 Campbellism 

report? and to whom hath the arm of the 
Lord been revealed?" John 12: 38. ''The 
Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the 
eyes of all the nations," Isa. 52 : 10. '* There- 
fore his arm brought salvation," Isa. 59 : 16. 
Now it remains to show that such knowl- 
edge is given in the remission of sins. John 
the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord 
by giving knowledge of salvation [i>] in the 
remission of their sins, Luke i : 77. Also 
in Peter's second sermon, he said : " God 
having raised up his son Jesus Christ to bless 
you in turning away every one of you from 
his iniquities," Acts 3:26. And John the 
Evangelist says, " We know he was manifested 
to take away our sins," i John 3 : 5. "And 
they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 
Know the Lord : for they shall all know me, 
from the least of them unto the greatest of 
them, for I will forgive their iniquity^ and I 
will remember their sins no more," Jer. 31 : 
34. Here the Lord shows by the prophet 
that the knowledge of Him is by the forgive- 
ness of iniquity. " Behold, for peace I had 
great bitterness ; but thou hast in love to 
my soul delivered it fro7n the pit of corruption : 
for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back^^^ 
Isa. 38: 17. And "Blessed are they whose 
iniquities are forgiven," Rom. 4: 7. The 
Psalmist says, "As far as the east is from 
the west, so far hath he removed our trans- 
gression from us," Psalm 103 : 12. And this 



* In Christian Costume. 73 

agrees with the Prophet Jeremiah : '^ The 
iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and 
shall not be found : for I will pardon them 
whom I reserve/' Jer. 50 : 20. And Christ 
is said to have " Washed us from our sins 
in his own blood/' Rev. 1:5. And the 
apostle reasons that worshipers once purged 
by a perfect sacrifice have " No more con- 
science of sins," Heb. 10: 2. "Blessed 
are they whose iniquities are forgiven," 
Rom. 4 : 7. 

2. This knowledge is connected with spir- 
itual illumination, and is represented as a 
" Light shining in a dark place," 2 Peter i : 
19. "Arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
give thee light," Eph. 5 : 14. " I am come a 
light into the world, that whosoever believeth 
on me should not abide in darkness," John 
11: 46. "For God, who commanded the 
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined 
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowl- 
edge of the glory of God in the face of 
Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. 4 : 6. 

3. This knowledge is connected with 
anointing from the Holy One. " But ye 
have an unction from the Holy One, and ye 
know all things," i John 2 : 20. Among the 
many things specified in this chapter is the 
forgiveness of sins, "I write unto you, little 
children, because your sins are forgiven for 
his name's sake," 12th verse. "And ye need 
not that any man teach you : but as the 
same anointing teacheth you of all things, 



74 Campbellism 

and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it 
hath taught you, ye shall abide in him," i 
John 2:25. And this is no second-hand 
work, for ^^ He which hath anointed us is 
God," 2 Cor. 1:21. "Who hath also sealed 
us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our 
hearts," verse 22. 

4. This knowledge is connected with "find- 
ing the Lord." But if thou " Shalt seek the 
Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou 
seek him with all thy heart and with all thy 
soul," Deut. 4 : 29. " Seek and ye shall find," 
Matt. 7:7. It is also expressed as " Having 
received mercy," 2 Cor. 4 : i j i Cor. 7 : 25. 
" Receiving forgiveness of sins," Acts 26 : 
18. "Receiving Christ joyfully," Luke 19: 
16, etc. 

5. This knowledge is connected with a radi- 
cal change in our nature. "And I will give 
them a heart to know me," Jer. 24 : 7. "A 
new heart also will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you, and I will take 
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and 
I will give you a heart of flesh," Ezek. 36 : 26. 
The heart of the wicked is called " Uncir- 
cumcised in heart," Jer. 9 : 26. " Stony 
heart," Ezek. 11 : 19. " Doutle heart," Psalm 
12 : 2. " Rebellious heart," Jer. 5 : 23. "Im- 
penitent heart," Rom. 2 : 5. " Proud heart," 
Prov. 28: 25. "Deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked," Jer. 17 : 9. "For 
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, mur- 
ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false 



In Christian Costume. 75 

witness, blasphemies," Matt. 15: 19. Here 
is the very fountain of human iniquity, also 
called " Evil treasure of the heart," Matt. 12 : 
35. "Body of sin," Rom. 6: 6. And this 
defilement is also of the mind and conscience. 
For " Unto them that are defiled and unbe- 
lieving is nothing pure, but even their mind 
and conscience is defiled," Titus i : 15. So 
that we have the expressions, "A wicked 
mind," Prov. 21: 27; "A reprobate mind," 
Rom. I : 28 ; '^A carnal mind, which is en- 
mity against God," Rom. 8 : 7. Such a mind 
is not simply at enmity against God, but is 
the very principle of enmity. We also have 
the expressions, "An evil conscience," Heb. 
10: 22 ; "Conscience seared as with a hot 
iron," I Tim. 4 : 2. 

Now the question comes, that if pardon 
takes place in heaven without our knowledge, 
can we be happy with such a heart and mind 
and conscience ? According to Mr. Camp- 
bell, " Our going down into the water obtains 
remission ;" but such a thought has no place 
in the Bible, for it takes an almighty energy 
to change the heart and mind and con- 
science. " The preparation of the heart in 
man is from the Lord," Prov. 16 : i. "And 
what is the exceeding greatness of his power 
to US-ward who believe, according to the 
working of his mighty power," Eph. i : 19. 
" Now he that hath wrought us for the self- 
same thing is God," 2 Cor. 5:5. " Through 
the faith of the operation of God," Col. 2 : 



76 Campbellism 

12. And this change is so great it is called 
a " creation/" and the subject of it a " new 
creature." " For we are his workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus unto good works," 
Eph. 2: 10, and "Created in righteous and 
true holiness," Eph. 4: 24. So we surely 
can not be changed from the "power of 
Satan unto God " and not know it, unless 
there is but little difference between the 
Christian and sinner, and between God and 
Satan. 

But the difference every-where appears in 
Scripture. Peter said to a wicked man, 
" Thy heart is not right in the sight of God," 
Acts 8 : 21. Jehu asked a servant of the 
Lord if his heart was right, and he answered, 
"It is," 2 Kings 10: 15. The Psalmist says 
of a good man, " His heart is fixed, trusting 
in the Lord," Psalm 112: 7. And of him- 
self, "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is 
fixed : I will sing and give praise," Psalm 
57:7. The renewed soul has " passed from 
death unto life," John 5 : 24. And from 
darkness to Christ's "marvelous light," i 
Peter 2 : 9. He also has " humility of 
mind," Acts 20 : 19 ; Phil. 2:3; and " a 
pure mind," 2 Peter 3 : i. "A sober mind," 
Titus 2 : 6. He also has a " good con- 
science," I Tim. 1:5. "A pure conscience," 
I Tim. 3: 9. And has been "born from 
above^' (marginal reading), John 3 : 3. 

And further concerning the "operation 
of God," it is said : "And I will turn my 



In Christian Costume. 77 

hand upon thee, and purge away thy dross, 
and take away all thy tin," Is. i: 25. ''And 
he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge 
them as gold and silve'r," Mai. 3:2. Do 
not these things take place in man.'* And is 
there not a meaning in "putting off the 
body of the sins of the flesh, and in being 
circumcised in heart .^ " Col. 2:11? " Know- 
ing this, that our old man is crucified with 
him, that the body of sin might be de- 
stroyed," Rom. 6 : 6. And God says by 
the Prophet Jeremiah, *' I will turn their 
mourning into joy, and will comfort them, 
and make them rejoice from their sorrow," 
Jer. 31: 13; and by Isaiah, "They shall 
obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and 
mourning shall flee away," Is. 51: 11. 

Proposition ii. The Holy Spirit a person. 

And this brings us to the personality of 
the Holy Spirit. It is said he has a mind, 
Rom. 8: 27; He speaks, Acts 21: 11; 
Rev. 1:13; commands, Acts 8 : 29 j 10 : 20 ; 
teaches, Luke 12: 12 j i Cor. 2: 13; bears 
witness with our spirits and conscience, 
Rom. 8: 16'; 9: i; makes us abound in 
hope, Rom. 15: 13; 12: 12; reproves (or, 
convicts) the world, John 16 : 8; justifies us, 
I Cor. 6: 11; and we are born again of 
him, John 3:5. 

We receive of him love. Gal. -5 : 22; Rom. 
15 * 30 ; Col. 1:8; joy. Gal. 5 : 22 ; Rom. 
14: 17; I Thess. 1:6; peace, Gal. 5: 22; 



78 Campbellism 

Rom. 8:6; comfort, Acts 9: 31; John 14: 
26; communion, 2 Cor. 13: 11; Phil. 2: i. 
He intercedes for us, Rom. 8: 26, 27; re- 
news us to salvation, Titus 3: 5; sanctifies 
us, 2 Thess. 2 : 13 ; i Peter 1:2; seals us, 
Eph. 4:30; i: 13 ; 2 Cor. i: 22 ; gives us 
access through Christ to the Father, Eph. 
2: 18; John 10: 9; 14: 6; builds us to- 
gether in Christ, Eph. 2: 22 ; i Peter 2:5; 
helps our infirmities, Rom. 8:26; strength- 
ens us mightily, Eph. 3 : 16 ; 6 : 10 ; Col. i : 
II ; quickens our bodies, Rom.S : 11. 

He raised Jesus from the dead, Rom. 8 : 
11; called and sent the apostles, Acts 13: 
2 ; made the elders overseers of the Church, 
Acts 20 : 28 ; inspired the prophets, 2 Peter 
2: 21 ; he may be vexed, Is. 6;^: 10, 11 ; 
resisted. Acts 7 : 51 ; grieved, Eph. 4 : 30 ; 
lied to (or deceived), Acts 5:3; spoken 
against, Mark 12 : 32 ; and blasphemed, 
Mark 3 : 28, 29, 30 ; Matt. 12 : 31. 

He is called God, Acts 5 : 34 ; the Lord, 
2 Cor. 3: 17; and to him is attributed, fore- 
knowledge, John 16: 13; wisdom, Eph. i: 
17; goodness, Ps. 143: 10; holiness, Ps. 
51: 11; creation. Job 33 : 4; Gen. 2:7; 
eternity, Heb. 9: 14; Rom. 1:4; omnis- 
cience, i Cor. 2 : 10 ; John 16: 15; omnip- 
otence, Rom. 15: 19; Micah S' ^j Acts 
I : 8 ) and omnipresence, Ps. 139 : 7 ; John 
14: [6. Also the Greek pronoun represent- 
ing the word spirit is of the masculine gen- 
der, which can be accounted for on no 



In Christian Costume. 79 

other supposition than that he is a person. 
Besides he is classed with the Father and 
the Son in several passages of Scripture, 
Matt. 3 : 16 ; 28 : 19 ; John 14 : 16, 26, and 
15 : 26 ; 2 Cor. 13 : 14 ; Eph. 2 : 8 ; i Peter 
I : 2 j Eph. 4 : 4. But Mr. Morgan thinks 
that it is presumption and blasphemy to 
pray, ^''Lord^ accofnpany thy word with thy 
Spirit r 

Some of Mr. CampbelFs followers would 
have us believe that God pardoned sins 
through Jewish sacrifices. That some sac- 
rifices were expiatory is true. These the law 
demanded through which came a law par- 
don, Lev. 4: 26, 31, 35; 5* lo? i3' 16, 18; 
6:7; 19 : 22 ; Num. 15 : 28. Such sacrifi- 
ces could not remove the guilt, but turn aside 
the penalty."^ They were imperfect, and the 
worshipers still had conscience of sins, Heb. 
10: 2 It is impossible that the "blood of 
bulls and of goats should take aw^ay sins," 
Heb. 10 : 4. And when God answered in 
sacrifice it was an evidence that he who 
offered it was already righteous before such 
offering w^as presented to God. This was 
true from the very first. And sacrifice had to 
be offered in faith be to acceptable. So " by 
faith Abel offered unto God a more excel- 
lent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained 
witness that he was righteous, God testifying 



*rhis penally was often death, *' The soul that sin- 
neth it shall die," Ez. 18:4, 20. 



8o Campbellism 

of his gifts," Heb. 11:4; Job 42 : 8 ; and 
Paul says, *' Though I bestow all my goods 
to feed the poor, and though I give my 
body to be burned, and have not charit}^ it 
profiteth me nothing," i Cor. 13 : 3. The 
sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. 
How much more when he bringeth it with a 
wicked mind. Prov. 21 : 27 ; Is. 66: 3 ; Jer. 
6 : 2o ; Amos 5:22. God requires something 
better than sacrifice, i Sam. 15: 22. "For 
I desired mercy and not sacrifice, and the 
knowledge of God more than burnt offer- 
ings," Hosea 6:6; Matt. 9 : 13. And to 
this end Christ taught that a man should be 
reconciled to his brother before he offered 
his gift, even though it was before the altar, 
Matt. 5 : 24. The psalmist sinned and con- 
fessed his sin, and prayed to God for for- 
giveness, and afterwards said to the Lord, 
*' Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I 
give it : thou delightest not in burnt offer- 
ing. The sacrifices of God are a broken 
spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O 
God, thou wilt not despise," Ps. 51 : 16, 17 ; 
34: 18. This is the sacrifice to which God 
answers in every dispensation. 

Proposition 12. Christian ministry called 
of God. 

As Mr. Campbell and many of his follow- 
ers take the position that all the converting 
power is in the Divine record, they are 
driven by such a position to reject a "divinely 



In Christian Costume. 8i 

constituted ministry." But the Bible reveals 
to us such a ministry and implies its perpe- 
tuity as much as the perpetuity of the Church. 
The question is asked by Paul, ^' How shall 
they preach except they be sent.'*'' Rom. lo : 
15. And our Savior gives us the authority 
by which they are sent, " Pray ye therefore, 
the Lord of the harvest, that he would send 
forth laborers into his harvest," Luke 10 : 2. 
So they come by the authority of the Lord in 
answer to prayer. Parallel with this Christ 
"ordained twelve that they should be with 
him, and that he might send them forth to 
preach," Mark 3 : 14 ; and Paul appointed 
Titus to '' ordain elders in every city," Titus 
1:5. He also wrote to Timothy, saying that 
" if a man desire the office of a bishop, he de- 
sires a good work," i Tim. 3:1. He also 
charged the elders at Ephesus saying, " Take 
heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all 
the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath 
made you overseers, to feed the Church of 
God," etc., Acts 20 : 28. "And he gave 
some apostles; and some, prophets ; and 
some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and 
teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for 
the work of the ministry," etc., Eph. 4: 11* 
And our Savior said to his disciples, " Go ye 
therefore, and teach [or make Christians of] 
all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost," Matt. 28 : 19. By this we see that 
teaching or preaching and baptizing is given 
6 



82 Campbellism 

by the same authority and must stand or fall 
together. 

In the New Testament God authorizes 
only those to baptize who are divinely ap- 
pointed officers. And this is proper, as his 
Church is to be composed of saints, a divine 
institution. And if none are divinely ap- 
pointed to preach, then none are divinely 
appointed to baptize and admit to Church 
privileges. And if there has been no one to 
admit to Church membership since the apos- 
tles, there is now no visible Church on earth. 
That Satan has his ministers, no rational 
mind can doubt. They are "deceiving and 
being deceived." God sends them strong 
delusions, and they preach them to others to 
blind their minds and lead them astray. 
Besides, it is not too much to say that he 
who ministers in divine things without au- 
thority is destitute of God's pardoning grace. 

Now, Messrs. Williams and Morgan, in 
order to deceive others, put Mr. Campbell's 
gospel in advance of Christ's. They tell 
others that they obeyed the same Gospel 
which the Methodist and Baptist and Pres- 
byterians obey, and that the same blessed 
consequences came to them ; but they had 
doubts. Mr. Morgan had his doubts taken 
away, and had never doubted a moment 
since he obeyed Mr. Campbell's gospel. 
Mr. Williams had doubts for three or four 
months afterward ; then he settled down in 
the belief of Mr. Campbell's gospel. Now 



In Christian Costume. S^ 

he has no doubts. He has given up to the 
delusion which God has sent him. If this 
is not correct, will Mr. Williams and Mr. 
Morgan come out and defend their doctrine, 
and let it be put to the test of the Word of 
God that is the "rule of our faith and prac- 
tice?'' And if Campbellism is against the 
Bible, the world ought to know it. If it is 
according to the Bible, as big a man as Mr. 
Williams ought to show it to the citizens of 
Salem, and to all whom it may concern. 
Will you not kindly urge Mr. Williams to 
come out with his battery, and try his mis- 
siles of error against the eternal truth of the 
Bible? We must all acknowledge with him 
that he is a big man. 

But it is our earnest wish to see him set 
Webster right. And as the Methodist Church 
has the deviVs faith^ according to his state- 
ment, will Mr. Williams please come out 
and tell us about the right faith ? And as 
other denominations have a similar "faith of 
the operation of God " instead of water, they 
are also interested. This is the faith which 
was kicked out of the way at Turkey Creek, 
where Mr. Williams made a profession of 
religion, and Campbellism came in its 
stead. The faith of the missionary Baptist 
was also set aside at what is now called Mt. 
Moriah, and now they baptize according to 
Mr. Morgan to pardon their sins, and they 
feel no change in baptism, for that change 
takes place in the mind of God, and they 



84 Campbellism 

know nothing about it. Such is the institu- 
tion in our midst called the " Christian 
Church '' by its members, and Campbellites 
by others. And to Mr. J. D. Morgan, M. D.: 
Sir, if God has promised to pardon sins only 
in baptism, please come out and tell the 
people about it, and tell us where we can find 
the passage. 

And now a word about William A. Dale 
(Baptist minister), greatly respected by all 
who know him. More than twenty-five years 
ago, he told me he thought there was no 
divine reality in religion, that it was all ex- 
citement, and that he heard a preacher in 
Tennessee say that he had better success in 
working on the sympathies of the people 
than in any other way. About twenty-four 
years ago he sought Christ, and asked me 
why he received no blessing. I told him he 
had not got in good earnest, and that if he 
would trust in Christ with all his heart, and 
make a full surrender to him, he would then 
receive a blessing, or he might have my 
head off of my shoulders. He testifies that 
I told him the truth. And Elijah Davis 
(Baptist), my own brother, who died several 
years ago, and gave evidence that all was 
well, found Jesus in the ^'joy of his heart," 
Eccl. 5 : 20, out in the woods alone with 
God. Mr. Dale went to him, and he joy- 
fully told him that he had found Christ right 
there in the woods. But that such teachers 
are prophesied of is evident: (i.) They 



In Christian Costume, 85 

have departed from the faith ; i Tim. 4 : i, 2. 
(2.) They resist the truth, 2 Tim. ^: S. It 
is further said that when their folly shall be 
manifest to all men ; they shall proceed no 
further. (3.) "They wax worse and worse, 
deceiving and being deceived/' 2 Tim. 3 : 13. 
(4.) They *' subvert whole houses/' Titus i : 
II. (5.) "They profess they know God," 
Titus I : 16, and that others, who are not 
baptized to pardon their sins, are ignorant 
of him. And now I joy in him who com- 
manded the "light to shine out of darkness," 
for it surely is his purpose that in this work 
"none of my steps shall slide," Psalm 37: 
31. And all their opposition so far goes to 
establish the Gospel of Christ against Mr. 
Campbell's gospel, to which they hold. 

Mr. Williams said he thought I was all 
right at heart, but I was crazy. I told him 
to come out to hear me, and see if I talked 
like a crazy man. He said, " Go 'way ; go 
'way ; I do n't want to be bothered with 
you!" Some time afterwards, coming into 
a nest of soul-sleepers at the pleasant little 
city of Mt. Vernon, I proposed to prove their 
doctrine false. One of them is reported to 
have said, " Do n't listen to that man ; he 's 
crazy." "Is he crazy?" inquired his aston- 
ished friend. Said he, " Yes ; he 's perfectly 
wild at times !" And Mr. Morgan threat- 
ened to sue me for accusing him of lying. 
He said he would make me prove it. The 
proof came quickly after his assertion, with- 



S6 Campbellism 

out my effort. Others of them warned me 
against trying to prove their doctrine false, 
intimating that by law they would break me 
up, so that the book could not be published. 
Whenever they threatened to sue, I insisted 
that they should do so, if it was their 
pleasure. 

And I say now, as I have said, whatever 
is best for Chris fs Gospel^ let it come. My 
purpose is to carry my suit through court 
without a lawyer, so that the people can 
know it if I am crazy. The world ought to 
know whether sins are pardoned by going 
down into the water or in the water when 
Christ's name is called upon the candidate, 
or just on the other side of baptism. And if 
such a change takes place in God and not in 
man, how do we know it takes place in the 
mind of God ? is a serious question. And if 
there is no Holy Spirit but the written Word, 
the world ought to know it. These doctrines 
are either true or false. Fair and candid in- 
vestigation is what I want, and what I sin- 
cerely believe I can of right demand. It 
matters little whether that be made in court 
or out of court ; by a big man or a little 
man — that is, by Rev. J. A. Williams or J. 
D. Morgan, M. D. These are the two men 
with whom it would be my pleasure to inves- 
tigate, for it is not my work, but it is from 
the Lord. And if pardon is not consequent 
on an unconditional surrender of the will to 
God, the world ought to know it. This, as 



In Christian Costume. 87 

I understand it, is what Mr. Williams calls 
the devil's faith, which is the faith of the 
Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists. 

And now to those who have been beguiled 
into Campbellism. You are standing in op- 
position to Christ's Gospel. You are follow- 
ing such leaders that the Bible says to you, 
*' From such turn away." Your immortal 
soul is precious, and you should '^ seek the 
Lord" and "find him." Going down into 
the water before you enjoy the " peace which 
passes knowledge " will make you a follower 
of Alexander Campbell, but not of Christ. 
The heart or affections must be right, or 
after baptizing you are still in your sins, and 
sin is destructive of all human happiness, so 
that you never can be truly happy till your 
sins are taken away by our Savior. I am 
trying to lift you out of the pit, that you may 
see the "King in his beauty." You need 
the love and mercy of almighty God, and 
can secure it by turning away from false 
teachers and believing in Jesus. I beg you 
not to neglect it. 



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